Report: Syria aims half-ton warhead missiles at Tel Aviv

Responding to a report in The Sunday Times suggesting that Syria has prepared its most advanced missiles to hit Tel Aviv if Israel launches a strike on its territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Israel was prepared for any scenario.

„The Middle East is currently facing one of the most sensitive eras it has seen in decades, and at the center: the escalating shock waves in Syria,” the prime minister said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. „We are closely monitoring the developments and changes there, and we are prepared for any scenario.”

„The Israeli government is acting responsibly, is determined and calculated, and will ensure that Israel’s top priority is preserved — the security of the citizens of Israel in accordance with the policy that we have outlined — and prevent, as much as possible, the transfer of advanced weapons into the hands of Hezbollah and terror organizations. We will take action to protect the security interests of the citizens of Israel in the future as well,” Netanyahu said.

According to The Sunday Times, Syria has deployed advanced missiles carrying 500-kilogram (1100-pound) warheads with attack coordinates set for Tel Aviv. The report further suggests that spy satellites have been monitoring Syrian army movements and preparations to deploy the domestically produced Tishreen missiles. The missiles are reportedly being aimed at Tel Aviv and there are standing orders to fire them if Israel strikes Syria.

Foreign media outlets claimed that Israel carried out two airstrikes in Syria earlier in the month, reportedly targeting advanced weapon shipments bound for Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

The reported Tishreen deployment marks a new level of escalation between Syria, which has been embroiled in a bloody two-year civil war, and Israel, which has made every effort to avoid becoming involved in the neighboring conflict, save preventing Hezbollah from obtaining the regime’s most advanced weapon systems.

On Friday, a senior Israeli intelligence official told the Times that Israel would prefer that the Assad regime remain intact, over the possibility of a rebel-led regime that could arise if Assad is toppled.

„Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos and extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold there,” the unnamed Israeli official told the British paper.

On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces’ Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai denied the Times report. Writing on his Facebook page, Mordechai said that „I don’t know who this unnamed source is. I have learned a lot over the last two years about the calculated use of such remarks to achieve this or that objective. Since I am very well acquainted with the official position of the Military Intelligence Directorate, I find this quote to be implausible, and I would even go as far as to say that it sounds baseless.”

Mordechai added that the IDF was closely monitoring the developments in Syria and has no plans to „change its hands-off approach with regards to the Syrian uprising.”

Against the backdrop of the U.S. and Russia’s new efforts to convene a „peace conference” in Geneva in the near future and attempt to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, it appears Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not shying away from unleashing his entire arsenal in his blood soaked battle with the rebels.

Following two reports of the Assad regime using chemical weapons in northern Syria, over the weekend it was reported that the Syrian military used chemicals in the capital Damascus.

Al Arabiya reported on Saturday rebel claims that dozens of their people fell victim to a chemical weapons attack after the Syrian army fired mortars into Damascus’ al-Asali neighborhood. According to the reports, the victims suffered from shortness of breath and eye burns from mortar rounds that contained chemical warheads and released a strong smell of gas when exploded. The rebels also claimed that phosphorus tipped rockets were fired at them by Assad’s forces.

A senior official in the Damascus hospital recounted what he saw to Al-Jazeera. „Dozens of civilians, women and children arrived at clinics and medical centers in city complaining of difficulty breathing and intense burning in the their eyes and skin. The majority of them came from the al-Asali neighborhood,” he said.

There were additional reports of chemical weapon usage in the north-western town of Saraqeb. Witnesses reported a Syrian air force helicopter dropping canisters containing poisonous gas over the city, causing suffocation and burns. The BBC reported similar witness accounts on Thursday.

‘We did not attack with chemical weapons’

Meanwhile, forces loyal to Assad have continued trying to suppress the popular uprising to overthrow the regime. On Saturday a rare interview with the Syrian president was published. In a special interview he gave to Argentinian newspaper Clarin, Assad claimed „Israel is working with the Syrian opposition against me…Israel directly supports terrorist groups. It gives them logistical support, and tells them which sites to attack and how to carry out those attacks.”

In the interview, Assad implicitly referred to recent attacks in Damascus that were reportedly carried out by the Israel Defense Forces: „Rebels attacked radar installations that were part of our aerial defense system. The system is able to track any plane that approaches our territory, especially from Israel. The Israeli attacks were carried out to raise the rebels’ morale.”

The Syrian president denied using chemical weapons in the conflict. „Attacking populated areas with chemical weapons spells the deaths of thousands or tens of thousands in minutes. Who could hide something like that?” Assad also used the interview as an opportunity to cast his doubt on the Holocaust: „I am no historian as to know exactly what went on there, but we all know that history is dictated by those who write it and we have gotten false historical accounts on more than one occasion.”

Meanwhile, the weekend saw more accounts of Hezbollah and Iranian involvement in the Syrian conflict on the side of Assad. Bodies of Hezbollah fighters and Iranian Republican Guard troops that were trapped in Homs revealed maps and orders handed down from the Syrian army general staff.

The Syrian opposition told Arab media outlets that they kidnapped the father of the Syrian deputy foreign minister. The father, 82, was abducted from his home in a town in southern Syria.