Israeli air strike hits huge Hezbollah weapons stockpile in Syria

A stockpile of weapons for the terrorist group Hezbollah was hit April 27 by the Israeli Defense Force, resulting in a huge explosion in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport.

According to a report by Reuters, propaganda from Syrian state media placed blame squarely on the Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel reserved the right to act in order to prevent Hezbollah from receiving "advanced weapons" from Iran.

"The incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah," the British news agency quoted Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz as saying in an interview with Army Radio, even as the Israeli military declined to comment on the apparent air strike.

Israel has apparently launched other strikes against stockpiles of weapons that are allegedly en route to Hezbollah — albeit the only truly confirmed strike was one this past March that resulted in the first confirmed kill for the Arrow missile defense system. According to Bloomberg, another depot was targeted late last week. The terrorist group is backing Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, alongside their Iranian sponsors. A BBC compilation of suspected Israeli strikes – and the one from last March that was confirmed – include some that have killed Hezbollah terrorists and in one instance, an Iranian general.

Iran has a history of providing terrorist groups and rebels with support. During the Iraq War, Iran allegedly provided explosively-formed penetrators to Shiite insurgents in Iraq, while also reportedly passing them on to anti-Afghan forces as well. Iran's support for the insurgents is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 500 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran also supplied Noor anti-ship missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen, who launched multiple attacks on the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87). The United States eventually responded by launching Tomahawk cruise missiles at radar sites controlled by the Houthis. An Iranian-supplied anti-ship missile was fired on the Israeli corvette INS Hanit that did minor damage during the 2006 Lebanon War.