The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Thursday that its troops dismantled an underground facility in Syria that was financed by Iran for the production of long-range rockets and precision-guided missiles, in an operation launched on September 8.
The mission, prepared months in advance, was carried out by more than 100 soldiers from the Israeli Army's Shaldag Unit in the Masyaf area, in western Syria, where they arrived using helicopters, and none of them were injured.
“The soldiers destroyed the compound and returned safely to Israeli territory.”, said the international spokesman for the Israeli army, Nadav Shoshani.
According to the spokesman, this operation is the result of a campaign in which, for several years, Israeli intelligence had been following and collecting information on this military infrastructure that was close to the border with Lebanon.
“The complex included advanced assembly lines designed to manufacture precision-guided missiles and long-range rockets, significantly increasing the supply of missiles to Hezbollah and other Iranian terrorist agents in the region.”, he explained.
Israel also claims its forces have gained access to machinery critical to the manufacture of precision missiles, as well as intelligence documents that are now being investigated.
“We needed to act because this clearly posed a threat to the Israelis. It should be remembered that Hezbollah launched 7.000 projectiles against our territory in more than a year of war, and some of them were long-range.“, argued this official.
In this regard, he reiterated that the Army is seeking to prevent Hezbollah from rearming with these operations, although he acknowledged that Iran, "despite the blows it has received," still has many capabilities to create weapons.
"I'm sure they will look for other ways in the future," he said.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.