Israel strikes military site near Damascus, Syria's state-run news claims

A military site near Damascus came under attack just after midnight Saturday by missiles from the Israeli military, according to the Syrian state-run SANA news agency and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Posted 6:18 p.m. Dec 2, 2017 — Updated 6:18 p.m. Dec 2, 2017

Andrew Carey, Oren Liebermann, Eyad Kourdi

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Daniel Nikbakht (CNN)

(CNN) — A military site near Damascus came under attack just after midnight Saturday by missiles from the Israeli military, according to the Syrian state-run SANA news agency and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Two of the surface-to-surface missiles launched were intercepted by Syrian air defense, but others caused material damage to the military site, sources told SANA.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident when asked by CNN about the Syrian claim.

The incident comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Syria. In November, the Israeli military accused Syria of violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement by "conducting construction work" in the northern part of the Golan Demilitarized Zone. Israel also shot down a reconnaissance drone it believed was operated by Syria.

Israel's stated policy on the civil war in Syria is that it is not taking sides. Still, it has conducted dozens of strikes inside Syrian borders to defend what it calls its red lines, and to prevent what it says is Iran's proxy Hezbollah -- fighting alongside the Syrian regime -- from acquiring advanced weaponry.

These strikes are primarily against regime targets, including a reported Israeli hit on a military research facility in early September in northwest Syria.

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