Israel carries out strikes on two Syrian cities, Syrian state news agency says

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CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli strikes targeted the vicinity of Syria’s Damascus, Hama and Daraa countryside late on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

The strikes on Damascus countryside killed one civilian and injured four others in Hama, SANA added.

Israel’s repeated strikes on Syria act as a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus, which Israel views as a potential threat on its border.

The Israeli army confirmed the strikes on Syria on Friday, saying it targeted “a military site, anti-aircraft cannons, and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.”

The Israeli army has previously said it targeted Syria’s military infrastructure, including headquarters and sites containing weapons and equipment, since mainly Sunni Muslim Islamist fighters toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Earlier on Friday, Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus, in its clearest warning yet to Syria’s new Islamist-led authorities of its readiness to ramp up military action, which has included strikes it said were in support of the country’s Druze minority.

Israel bombed Syria frequently when the country was governed by Assad, targeting a foothold established by his ally Iran during the civil war.

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba, Laila Bassam; Yomna Ehab and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Chris Reese, Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio)