Syria Will Choose the Appropriate Moment to Respond to Israeli Strikes

Senior Syrian officials have reacted Monday to the Israeli airstrikes saying the republic will respond to the attacks in the appropriate moment but may not do so immediately, accusing the Zionist entity of using depleted uranium shells. 

"Syria will respond to the Israeli aggression and will choose the moment to do so," the official close to the government, who was speaking from Damascus, told AFP in Beirut. "It might not be immediate because Israel now is on high alert," he added. "We will wait but we will answer." 

An Israeli official source claimed the strikes targeted weapons bound for Hezbollah. But Iran denied the claims. However, Syrian state television said the bombing occurred around a military research facility at Jamraya.

A Western intelligence source told Reuters the attack targeted "stores of Fateh-110 missiles that were in transit from Iran to Hezbollah," while a senior Hezbollah source denied to Kuwaiti daily Alrai on Monday that the weapons targeted belonged to the resistance party. 

Syria: Israel used Depleted Shells

In the same context, a senior Syrian military source told Russia Today on Monday that the Zionist entity used depleted uranium shells in the strike in Syria. 

"When the explosion happened it felt like an earthquake, then a giant golden mushroom of fire appeared. This tells us that Israel used depleted uranium shells," the source said. 

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium for use in nuclear reactors. It is 2.5 times as dense as steel, which allows it to penetrate heavy protection. The material is known to be toxic, but not dangerously radioactive. 

The senior official speaking to RT downplayed the strategic importance of the weapons targeted in the attack, saying the military losses were "negligible" and that valuable equipment was removed from the site of attack after a previous strike. 

"The target was just an ordinary weapons warehouse. The bombing is an ultimatum to us – it had no strategic motivation," he was quoted by RT as saying. 

Another high-ranking Syrian military source told the Times that dozens of Syrian troops stationed near the presidential palace in Damascus were killed in the Israel strike. 

‘Israel’ Working with Syrian Militants

The Syrian military official accused the Zionist entity of working with opposition forces trying to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying the strike had targeted members of the Republican Guard in an area of Damascus where militants have made few inroads. 

Any further Israeli aggressions on Syrian territory would issue a "declaration of war", Syrian President Bashar Assad said, a source was reported as saying Monday in the Kuwait daily Alrai. 

Syria had stationed missile batteries aimed at Israel in the aftermath of the Israeli air strikes in the country, the website of Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV quoted a top Syrian official as saying on Sunday.

Strikes Open Door to All Possibilities

The report came as Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi said on Sunday that the Israeli air strikes against three targets on the outskirts of Damascus "open the door to all possibilities." 

The minister's comments at a press conference came after an emergency cabinet meeting organized to respond to what a Western source said was a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah. 

"The international community should know that the complex situation in the region has become more dangerous after this aggression," the cabinet said after an emergency meeting. 

Syria "has not just a right but a duty to protect the homeland and the state and the people from any attack, whether internal or external, by all ways and means and capabilities available," it added. 

Source: Beirut Al-Manar TV Online in English URL: http://www.almanar.com.lb/