On May 5, Syria said the Israeli regime had carried out an airstrike targeting a research center in a suburb of Damascus, following heavy losses inflicted upon al-Qaeda-affiliated groups by the Syrian army. According to Syrian media reports, the strike hit the Jamraya Research Center.

On Wednesday, the U.S. daily New York Times quoted Israeli authorities, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that if Syria “reacts by attacking Israel,” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will risk forfeiting his government “for Israel will retaliate.”

The Tel Aviv regime has made no comments on the remarks.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has said, “We’re not going to comment on the story.”

The May 5 Israeli aggression was Tel Aviv’s second strike on Syria in three days. The Jamraya facility was also targeted in an Israeli airstrike in January.

On May 9, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad said Damascus would “respond immediately” to any new Israeli act of aggression.

Miqdad categorically rejected Western media reports that the Tel Aviv regime had targeted weapons bound for the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

The Israeli authorities also claimed that Tel Aviv had so far ‘refrained’ from intervening in the internal affairs of Syria.

Western powers and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are partners in supporting the militant groups in Syria.

Turmoil has gripped Syria for over two years, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the foreign-sponsored insurgency.