Damascus, Syria – The U.S. envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrived in Israel today for high-level meetings with Israeli officials, amid escalating tensions along the Israel-Syria border.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Barrack held talks focusing on Syria and deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey. He also toured the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.
The visit comes just hours after Israeli warplanes and artillery launched a wave of strikes on military positions in Syria’s Damascus, Daraa, and Quneitra provinces. The strikes followed the launch of two rockets from western Daraa into the Golan Heights, prompting Israeli retaliatory fire and heightened military activity along the border.
Related: Israel Launches New Airstrikes on Southern Syria
Syrian state media reported that the airstrikes hit sites in Saasa and Kanaker in southern Damascus, as well as near Izraa in northern Daraa and Tel al-Shaar in Quneitra. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
According to our correspondent, the Israeli army fired at least five artillery shells into Daraa province on Tuesday, accompanied by tank movements and aerial reconnaissance.
The rockets launched from Syria originated from an area once controlled by Iranian-backed militias and Hezbollah-affiliated factions near the villages of Sheikh Hussein and Ain Dhikr regions historically linked to both Palestinian refugees and former ISIS strongholds, the correspondent added.
The correspondent also confirmed that there is minimal presence of official security forces from Syria’s transitional government in those border areas, where Iran-linked militias known as the “Islamic Resistance in Daraa and Quneitra” are believed to be active.
