The ministry said the “suspension of incoming and outgoing flights through Damascus International Airport” was due to technical disruptions, but an airport employee told AFP that the Israeli strikes at dawn had “affected” the facility.
“We had to postpone all flights for at least 48 hours and some flights have been rerouted through Aleppo airport,” the airport employee said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the issue.
An official at an Arab airline who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said separately that an airport landing strip had been hit during the Israeli assault — a development the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan also reported.
State news agency SANA confirmed that all flights have been suspended because “some technical equipment stopped functioning at the airport.” It did not mention a strike.
The airport is located south of Damascus. Flightradar24 showed no flights in the vicinity of the airport on Friday at noon.
The announcement came hours after Syria’s state media reported Israeli airstrikes on some military positions south of Damascus early Friday, wounding one person and causing material damage.
It was the second air raid attributed to Israel this week. Late Monday night, Syrian state media reported that Israeli missiles targeted Syrian army positions also south of Damascus, causing damage but no casualties.
There has been no comments on the strikes from Israel, which rarely publicizes such attacks.
Also this week, Israeli tanks reportedly shelled a Syrian military position in a demilitarized part of the Golan Heights.
Israeli jets said to strike targets south of Damascus for second time this week
Israeli planes reportedly carried out a series of strikes south of Damascus early Friday morning.
A Syrian military official told state media that the county’s air defense systems managed to thwart most of the attack, but that the strikes caused one civilian injury as well as material damage.
The “Israeli aggression” began at around 4 a.m. with several projectiles being fired from the Golan Heights toward southern Damascus, Syrian state media reported
A Twitter account tracking Israeli military activity in Syria claimed the strikes targeted sites in the suburb of al-Kiswah, south of Damascus, and near the Damascus International Airport, southeast of the city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported similar information. The claims could not immediately be independently verified.
Israeli strikes have continued in Syrian airspace, which is largely controlled by Russia, even as ties with Moscow have deteriorated in recent weeks. Israel has found itself at odds with Russia as it has increasingly supported Ukraine while seeking to maintain freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.
Syria, Russia carry out joint exercise after alleged Israeli airstrikes
By ALBERT AJI and EMANUEL FABIAN
The air forces of Russia and Syria conducted a joint drill over the war-torn country Tuesday, the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began more than three months ago, Syria’s Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said two Russian SU-35 fighter jets and six Syrian MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft simulated facing “hostile” warplanes and drones. Syrian pilots dealt with them with cover and support from the Russian warplanes, it said.
“All illusive targets were monitored and completely destroyed while aerial targets were hit at night for the first time,” the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement. It also released a video of the warplanes that it said took part in the drill.
The announcement came hours after Syrian state television reported that Israeli missiles targeted Syrian army positions south of the capital of Damascus, causing material damage but no casualties.
State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli warplanes fired several missiles while flying over the Golan Heights before midnight Monday. It added that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the missiles.
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