Israel confirms full consumption of civil aviation operations

Israel reopened its northern airspace on Monday to commercial air traffic, apparently following assessment that Syria is unlikely to retaliate for Israeli airstrikes on military targets inside the neighboring country. A military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv on Tuesday confirmed full consumption of civil aviation operations but would not detail considerations behind the decision. In a related development, a mortar shell fired from Syria exploded in the central Golan Heights on Tuesday morning. According to local media, the projectile landed near the border fence in Tel Fares. No casualties or damage were reported. It was the third mortar to hit the area in 24 hours, after two shells from Syria landed in the southern Golan Heights on Monday afternoon, causing no injuries or damage. The Israeli military believed the mortar strikes on Monday and Tuesday were unintentionally fired by either Syrian troops or rebels engaged in battles in the region. The mortar fire came days after Israeli warplanes allegedly bombed sites in Syria where Iranian shipments of advanced missiles for Lebanon's Hezbollah were reportedly stored, prompting threats of retaliation from President Bashar Assad and his senior ministers. In a bid to lower tension in the region, the Israeli army's Northern Command postponed a large-scale drill that was scheduled to start this week near the Lebanese border, saying the movement of military vehicles on northern roads could be misinterpreted and lead to an escalation, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported. On Monday, the former head of Israel's Shin Bet security service sought to downplay fears of Syrian retribution for the strikes in which an estimated dozens of elite Syrian troops were killed Sunday, saying that a war with Syria was unlikely.