Civilians killed in Israeli strikes – media
Two civilians have been killed in an Israeli air raid targeting Syria’s capital, state media has reported, noting that missiles also struck the country’s southern region. The assault came amid a flurry of similar strikes in recent days, which left several Syrians injured and two Iranian soldiers dead.
Missiles fired from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights hit Damascus and other areas in the south early Tuesday morning, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), which cited an unnamed military source.
In addition to the two civilians killed, the attack also resulted in “material damage” in Damascus, the source said, adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles.
The latest attack follows several days of bombing in Damascus and its surrounding countryside, as well as in Homs, where five Syrian soldiers were injured in airstrikes on Sunday. Another air raid on Friday killed a military adviser from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Tehran condemned as a “criminal” act that would not go “unanswered.” An IRGC officer was also killed in yet another missile strike last week, all of which were deemed “Israeli aggression” by officials in Damascus.
Just hours after Sunday’s strikes targeting Homs, the Israeli military said it detected an “aircraft” which crossed into its airspace from Syria. Fighter jets and helicopters were deployed to intercept the unidentified craft, which an Israeli military source later claimed was an “Iranian drone,” noting it was brought down with “electronic warfare.”
Though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rarely confirms operations in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously acknowledged “hundreds” of strikes on the country over the years, while officials have frequently warned of the presence of Iranian-backed militants there. Following reports of the air raid on Sunday, Netanyahu told lawmakers that Israel was “exacting a heavy price from terrorist-supporting regimes” beyond its borders, but did not elaborate.
Damascus has repeatedly protested the attacks as acts of aggression under international law, and while the United Nations urged Israel to “spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities” after a strike on the Aleppo airport last month, the operations appear to have only escalated since.
