Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has attacked Syria for the second time in three
days.

The Israel Air Force struck targets in Damascus that included Iranian
missiles destined for Hizbullah in attacks in which 100 Syrian elite
soldiers were reportedly killed. Other Israeli targets included Syria’s
scientific research center outside the capital, believed to include chemical
weapons.

“What we want is to ensure that inside the Syrian chaos we will not see
Hizbullah growing stronger,” parliamentarian Tzachi Hanegbi, a leading
member of the Knesset, said.

Officials confirmed the Israel Air Force strike on early May 6, said to
have targeted an Iranian shipment of Fateh-110 missiles, with a range of 300 kilometers. They said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency session of the Cabinet to discuss the latest missile strike in
Syria.

“The world is helplessly looking on at events in Syria, the Americans in
particular, and this president in particular,” Hanegbi, regarded as close to
Netanyahu, said. “He has left Iraq, Afghanistan and has no interest in
sending ground troops to Syria. That is why, as in the past, we are left
with our own interests, protecting them with determination and without
getting too involved.”

Israel has been alarmed by a series of Iranian deliveries to the regime
of Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2013. Officials cited shipments of the
enhanced Fateh-110, Scud B, Yakhont coastal defense system and the Buk-M2 air defense system, termed weapons
that could change the balance between Syria and Israel.

“Hizbullah is now moving troops — Hizbullah troops, financed by Iran —
across Syria,” U.S. House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers
said. “They’re engaged in the fight to protect the Assad regime.”

Officials said the air force deployed two Iron Dome missiles and rocket
defense batteries near the northern border with Lebanon. They said the
intelligence community has assessed that Syria was not likely to retaliate.
On May 6, in what appeared to reflect coordination, Turkey launched a major
military exercise along the border with Syria.

“Iran is testing Israel and the U.S. determination in the facing of red
lines and what it sees is in clarifies to it that at least some of the
players, when they define red lines and they are crossed, take it
seriously,” former Israel Military Intelligence commander [Res.] Amos Yadlin
said.

Israeli media reports raised the prospect that the Air Force fired the
Popeye air-to-ground missile to destroy the targets around Damascus. Popeye,
with a range of 100 kilometers, would enable Israeli warplanes to fire from
neighboring Lebanon. Another possible munition was identified as Spice, with
a range of 60 kilometers.

“It is possible that the attack was carried out from within Lebanese
territory in order to bypass Syria’s advanced anti-aircraft systems,”
Israeli defense analyst Amir Rapaport said. “Israel has the ability to
attack ground targets from the air, including from ranges of several
kilometers, through the use of U.S. armaments launched from the air, or via
Spice missiles produced by Rafael. These missiles can identify targets
precisely by comparing photos of the target obtained from a camera on the
missile to previously stored photos.”

  Bashar Assad, Benjamin Netanyahu, Damascus, Fateh-110, Israel strikes research center near Damascus, Popeye air-to-ground missile, Rep. Mike Rogers, Scub B, Tzachi Hanegbi