Tensions escalate on Israel’s borders

Israeli forces fired into Syria, in what the military called a warning, after a stray mortar hit an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) base in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It was reported that there were no casualties from the mortar explosions.

In response, the Israeli military said it fired in the direction of a Syrian army mortar crew that had launched the shell.

“A short while ago a mortar, stray mortar hit an IDF post in the Golan Heights,” Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said.

She added: “We understand that this is as a result of the internal conflict in Syria. We have fired warning shots into Syrian areas and have also filed a complaint through the UN channels regarding this incident.”

The incident was described by Radio Israel as the first direct engagement of the Syrian military on the Golan Heights since the countries’ 1973 war.

‘Harshen the response’

Israel also said it was prepared to escalate attacks on the Gaza Strip after a weekend of violence in the disputed territory.

On Saturday a missile strike wounded four Israeli troops who were patrolling the Gaza/Israel border. In response the Israeli army launched shells into the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians.

The violence continued to escalate with short range rocket launches into Israel’s southern border towns, followed by Israeli air-strikes on the Gaza Strip. Emergency services said that two workers died in a factory in the north of the Gaza Strip after it was hit by an Israeli tank shell.

The Israeli army said its Iron Dome defence system knocked out a longer-range “Grad” rocket which was aimed at the southern city of Beersheba. On Sunday thousands of Palestinians marched in funerals for the six people who died over the weekend.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet, in remarks reported by Israeli broadcasters: “The world needs to understand that Israel will not sit with arms crossed when faced by attempts to hurt us. And we are prepared to harshen the response.”