Civilians injured by Israeli strikes – Syria
An Israeli air raid targeting Syria’s Homs region has left three civilians wounded, the Syrian Arab News Agency has reported. The military said it intercepted some of the incoming missiles, but that several found their targets.
Blasts erupted in Homs during the early hours of Saturday morning after “a number of missiles” rained down on the city and its surrounding area, SANA said, citing an unnamed military official, who said the strikes were launched from airspace over northern Lebanon.
The attack resulted in the “injury of three civilians, the ignition of a civilian gas tank, and the burning of a number of tanks and trucks,” the source added, also claiming that Syrian air defenses “intercepted the aggressor’s missiles and shot down some of them.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not confirm any operations on Saturday, in line with its usual policy to refrain from commenting on particular strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously acknowledged launching “hundreds” of attacks on Syrian soil over the last decade, however, many of them against Iranian-backed forces assisting Damascus in its fight against jihadist rebel groups.
The IDF has also accused Syria’s military of working with Lebanese militant organization and political party Hezbollah, which it claims poses a threat to Israel.
Syrian media outlets have reported several Israeli strikes this month, including shelling near the border with the occupied Golan Heights on Monday, as well as an air raid in early April which was said to have killed two members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC vowed retaliation, and a drone purportedly launched from Syria was later shot down by Israeli forces, the Times of Israel reported, citing a military source.
The IDF also claimed several rockets were fired from southern Syria days later, and that some landed on Israeli territory. While they caused no casualties or damage, the attack prompted artillery and drone strikes in retaliation.
Saturday’s attack on Homs came just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited the Lebanese border with Israel, where he met with local officials, including some Hezbollah members. During the trip, the foreign minister said “positive developments” in the region would lead to the “collapse of the Zionist entity,” referring to Israel.
