Two mortar shells fired from inside Syria hit Mount Hermon on Wednesday for the first time since the onset of the civil war in Syria. No one was wounded and there was no damage to property.
The ski resort atop the mountain was closed to visitors for two hours. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the shelling was likely the result of errant firing.
A previously unknown armed pro-Palestinian group, however, claimed responsibility for the mortar attack, releasing a statement that it fired the two projectiles against "the Zionist enemy" in commemoration of one of the group's fallen fighters and for Palestinian Nakba Day (the "Day of Catastrophe" marking the declaration of Israel's independence).
According to the Palestinian Maan news agency, the Abdul Qader al-Husseini brigades on Thursday claimed responsibility for the mortar attack, posting a video online which shows rockets being fired. Maan could not independently verify the video.
According to Maan, the military wing of the Free Palestine Movement said it had received permission from Syria to launch the attack, following recent Israeli attacks on Syria.
The IDF submitted a complaint to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, responsible for maintaining the cease-fire between Israel and Syria.
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