New Israeli Airstrikes Hit Near Damascus

Alleged Israeli airstrikes target sites near Damascus

TZVI JOFFRE

Syrian air defenses responded to an alleged Israeli airstrike near Damascus on Tuesday night, after a number of cargo flights between Iran and Syria were reported earlier in the day, according to Syrian media.

A Syrian military source claimed that the alleged Israeli strike targeted sites near Damascus and that most of the incoming missiles were intercepted and only material damage was caused, according to SANA.

The Syrian Capital Voice site reported that the strikes targeted a weapons shipment that arrived at the Damascus International Airport earlier in the day. Explosions were reported after the strikes as well, according to the news source, which stated that they were likely caused by stored ammunition exploding.

The news source added that the 1st Division of the Syrian military in Al-Kiswah also went on alert after the airstrikes.

Independent flight tracking sites reported earlier on Tuesday that a number of Iranian and Syrian flights from Qeshm Air, Mahan Air and the Syrian Air Force, which have all reportedly been used to smuggle Iranian weapons to Syria and Lebanon, traveled between Damascus and Tehran today.

The last alleged Israeli airstrike reported in Syria was on Feb. 28, with strikes targeting Iranian targets near Damascus.

The strikes in February came just days after an Israeli-owned commercial vessel was attacked by mines in the Gulf of Oman. While Israeli media reported that the strikes were an Israeli response to the attack on the ship, no official government or military statement was made on the matter. In the past, the IDF has often confirmed when it responded to specific attacks.

The strikes on Tuesday come as Iran places blame on Israel for a series of alleged attacks against Iranian vessels they claim occurred from 2019 until recent weeks.

The strikes are the eighth since January, with strikes attributed to Israel reported in eastern, southern and Western Syria in January and February.

Israel has struck a wider range of targets than usual since the start of the year, including a major strike on Iranian-linked strongholds further east near the Iraqi border.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in February said Israel was taking action "almost weekly" to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria.

Alleged Israeli airstrikes said to hit targets near Damascus airport

TOI STAFF and AFP

Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria late Tuesday night, Syrian state media reported, in the latest in a series of raids attributed to the Jewish state.

The state-run SANA news agency said Syrian air defenses had engaged Israeli missiles near the capital Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes targeted two ammunition depots belonging to Iranian militias fighting on the side of the Assad government just a few kilometers from the Damascus airport south of the capital.

The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the late-night strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria, save for those launched in retaliation for an attack from Israel’s northern neighbor.

The strikes came days after drones reportedly bombed a shipment of advanced weapons that were being transported through Iraq into eastern Syria by Iranian proxies.

The IDF has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 against moves by Iran to establish a permanent military presence in the country and efforts to transport advanced, game-changing weapons to terrorist groups in the region, principally Hezbollah.