Israel to Iranian Proxy: ‘We’ll Get You’

Israel vows retaliation after rockets fired onto its territory from Syria

JERUSALEM—In a succession of swift steps after being hit by two rockets fired onto its territory from Syria Thursday, Israel has signaled to the Iranian-backed organization allegedly behind the incident that it knows who is responsible and that “we’ll get you.”

The rockets caused no casualties or damage beyond brushfires but Israel’s vigorous reaction reflects its belief that the attack is part of a stepped-up Iranian campaign to attack Israel through proxies. It was the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War that shells were fired into Israel from Syrian territory.

Within hours of the rocketing, Israeli artillery and warplanes hit 14 Syrian army targets across the border. Syria was not behind the attack, Israeli officials say, but the rockets were launched from territory under the army’s control. In an unusual move immediately afterwards, a senior security official briefing reporters revealed sensitive security information by naming the person who had ordered the rocketing as an Iranian officer, Saad Ezadi. He was identified as head of the Israel desk of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Quds Force is responsible for quasi-military operations outside Iran and answers directly to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Israeli officials said the rocketing, which also included the firing of two rockets into the Golan Heights, had been carried out by a cell from the Palestinian branch of Islamic Jihad under Ezadi’s control.

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