Israel said its air force held a joint military exercise with the United States Air Forces Central Command for the second time in 2020.
The so-called “Enduring Lightning 2” exercise took place in southern Israel on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
The army said that the exercise was held in accordance with the guidelines of the Israeli Health Ministry, with planning and debriefing done at a distance and through digital means.
The US and the Israeli air forces maintain close cooperation, including in training and mutual learning.
The exercise was held amidst tensions along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria, sparked by the killing of a fighter with Hezbollah, a Lebanese Iran-backed armed group, in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria in July.
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Israel’s military on Monday night said it had carried out airstrikes against targets belonging to the Syrian army, saying the attack was a response to “attempted attack” a day earlier, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israeli helicopters fired missiles on Syrian military positions in the southern province of Quneitra, according to Israel’s military and Syrian state news agency SANA.
The attack in southern Syria was carried out by Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters, and aircraft, according to a separate statement issued by the Israeli military.
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