Israel says army is shelling Syria after projectiles launched

The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying he held Syria's leader “directly responsible”.

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Syria's foreign affairs ministry denied firing the projectiles and said the country "has never been and will never be a threat to anyone in the region".

Israeli media said Tuesday's strikes were the first fired from Syria into Israeli territory since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

There were no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side due to the projectiles, which the military said triggered air raid sirens in parts of the southern Golan Heights, a territory Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said in a statement released by his office that “we view the president of Syria as directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel”.