The Syrian government has reportedly issued a warning to the Israeli government through a Russian mediator, cautioning them against continued airstrikes against Syrian military targets and threatening to retaliate with Scud missiles against Israeli military bases if they continue.

Israel had been intermittently attacking Syrian military targets throughout the Syrian Civil War, but that conflict has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, with Syria resisting larger Israeli strikes with anti-aircraft missiles, and Israel continuing to strike, and threatening to wipe out Syria’s air defenses outright.

Syria has a considerable cache of Scud missiles, which it acquired over the years in large part related to their ongoing arms race with Israel. Syrian officials reportedly threatened to hit military bases in northern Israel, and potentially strikes against the Haifa Port if Israel attacks civilian targets in Syria.

This would obviously set the stage for a huge escalation of fighting between Israel and Syria, and the Assad government appears to be betting Israel wont risk that with further attacks. At the same time, the far-right coalition in Israel has been eager to challenge Syria militarily, and may feel obliged to attack Syria, even at the risk of retaliation, just to prove that they retain “operational freedom” to attack who they want.