UN personnel search for remains of mortar shells in theIsraeli-annexed Golan Heights, on Oct. 21, 2017. Israel on Saturday attacked threeSyrian army posts after errant projectiles hit the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, in an escalation of the Israeli response to spillovers from its war-torn neighbor. (Xinhua/Gil Eliyahu-JINI)
JERUSALEM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Saturday attacked three Syrian army posts after errant projectiles hit the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, in an escalation of the Israeli response to spillovers from its war-torn neighbor.
"In response to the projectiles that hit Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted three artillery cannons of the Syrian regime in the Syrian Golan Heights," a military spokesperson said in a statement.
Four hits have been identified so far, but five projectiles were launched, the spokesperson said, adding that no injuries or damage were caused.
The projectiles "appear to be a result of the internal fighting in Syria," the statement read.
"Whether errant fire or not, any future occurrences will force the IDF to intensify its response," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson warned that "the IDF will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or to threaten the safety of its civilians, and holds the Syrian regime accountable for any aggression from within its territory."
Hundreds of mortars and gunfire have hit Israel since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, usually causing no injuries or damage. Israel usually responds with artillery or airstrikes, targeting posts of President Bashar Assad's army.
On Monday, Israel launched an airstrike on an anti-aircraft battery in Syria after the battery fired on its war jets during reconnaissance flights over neighboring Lebanon.
On Thursday, after another errant fire hit northern Israel, causing no injuries or damage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the stray shell was unacceptable.
"We do not accept spillovers and if they hit us we return fire -- and it doesn't take much time," he said, according to a statement released by his office.
Israel occupied part of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it later, in a move never recognized by the international community.
