Israel fires warning shots as Syria violence spills over border

Israel has fired warning shots into Syria – the first direct military engagement between the two countries since the war in 1973. Tel Aviv’s response was prompted by a mortar shell fired from Syria landing close to an Israeli army post in the Golan Heights and near the settlement of Allonei HaBashan. “We understand that this is as a result of the internal conflict in Syria and it was not directed at Israel. We have fired warning shots into Syrian areas and have also filed a complaint through the UN channels (regarding this incident),” said Israeli army spokesperson Avital Leibovich. This is not the first time the recent violence in Syria has spilled into Israeli territory. Bullets fired from within Syria hit an Israeli military jeep on November 6.