JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli army fired a missile into Syria after several shells fired from Syria exploded in northern Israel on the Golan Heights.
The Tammuz anti-tank guided missile reportedly destroyed a Syrian cannon at an army post from which mortars fired at Israel had originated.
The mortar fire on Israel on Saturday landed in open areas and caused no injuries. It was believed to be spillover from the fighting in Syria’s civil war rather than purposely shot at Israel.
The weekend incident was the eighth time the Israeli military has fired a missile at Syria in response to shells and live fire.
Dozens of mortar shells have hit northern Israel since the beginning of Syria’s 2 1/2-year civil war. At least 10 mortars from Syria landed in northern Israel last month.
Israel has filed numerous complaints over the cross-border fire with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, the U.N. peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights.
Over the weekend, at least 12 Syrians wounded in their country’s civil war were treated for their injuries in at least three hospitals in northern Israel. More than 100 Syrians have been treated in Israeli hospitals in recent months.
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