Israel ‘incapacitates’ Syria’s main airports – state media
An Israeli air strike on two of Syria’s main airports left one person dead and another injured, the Syrian state-run media outlet SANA has reported. Both airports have been put out of operation.
According to SANA, citing Syrian military officials, “at about 05:25 am on Sunday, the Israeli enemy simultaneously carried out an aerial act of aggression with waves of missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea west of Lattakia and from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan targeting Damascus and Aleppo international airports.”
The Transport Ministry said in a statement that a civil worker from the Meteorology Department at Damascus International Airport lost his life in the attack, as quoted by the media outlet.
The ministry added that all flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo have been redirected to Lattakia International Airport.
The air strike came just a week after Israel hit Aleppo International Airport.
The attack came soon after two missiles were fired from Syria into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, the Times of Israel reported at the time.
Earlier last week, the Israeli Air Force struck Damascus and Aleppo International Airports, too. In a separate incident, Israeli troops fired artillery and mortar shells toward Syrian territory, following shelling that targeted Israel’s border regions. Reuters claimed that a Palestinian group based in southern Syria had fired three rockets at Israel. The Israeli military, in turn, said that they were targeting the alleged missile launch sites with return fire.
Syria has condemned Israel’s military operation against Gaza, with President Bashar Assad calling for an end to Israeli air raids “targeting women and children” in the enclave.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel was reignited on October 7 after Palestinian militants launched a missile attack and surprise incursion. Israel retaliated with massive air strikes on Gaza, with top officials pledging to conduct a ground operation to uproot Hamas from the densely populated Palestinian territory.
According to officials on both sides, the latest round of violence has left at least 4,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis dead, with thousands more wounded. The UN and human rights groups have raised the alarm over a looming humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
