Israel responsible for "dozens" of airstrikes in Syria: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel has carried out "dozens" of attacks in Syria to prevent weapons transfers to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

This was the most explicit statement Netanyahu, who visited a practice of reserve military soldiers in northern Israel's Golan Heights, had made in regards to airstrikes conducted in recent years against convoys allegedly carrying weapons in Syria, which Israel did not officially acknowledge in the past.

"We operate when we need to operate, as well as just over here across the border," Netanyahu told Israeli soldiers and journalists on Monday, pointing towards the direction of Syria.

"We have acted with dozens of attacks in order to prevent Hezbollah from receiving game-changing weapons," Netanyahu said.

Israel conquered and annexed the Israeli Golan Heights from Syria following the 1967 Mideast War.

Israel claims Iran and its proxies in Syria are providing weapons to Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi'ite militant organization situated in southern Lebanon, against which Israel had fought a war in 2006.

The attacks against convoys carrying weapons in Syria were connected to Israel by international media outlets, but Israel did not officially acknowledge these attacks. Israeli officials only said they will operate "when and where" they see fit in order to defense Israel's security interests.

The Israeli prime minister talked about the possibility of a flare up in the region, describing the dangers across the Israeli border including Hezbollah, Jihadist groups in Syria, as well as the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, its allies in the Sinai Peninsula, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We also operate on other fronts, close and far, but we do it wisely. If we are required to enter battle -- and that option stands in front of us -- it is because we could not prevent the dangers to the state of Israel in any other way," Netanyahu said.

Israel has made it its policy not to interfere with the Syrian civil war, except for supplying medical assistance for wounded Syrians who reached the border. It had expressed concerns in February when a cease-fire was announced in Syria.

Netanyahu said that any agreement on the future Israel's northern neighbor "must assure Israel's security as well."

"We will not agree to the creation of a terror front at the Golan Heights," the Israeli prime minister said in February.

To that end, Israeli and Russian officials held close contacts in recent months, amid Russia's involvement in the Syrian conflict since September, in order to avoid accidents between the two countries' forces, and in Israel's attempt to ascertain its security interests on its northern border. Endit