Early Friday, Israeli military forces conducted air raids near Damascus, Syria, targeting areas reportedly harboring Iran-supported militia groups. This action suggests an escalation in the regional conflict.
In the vicinity of Sayyidah Zaynab, south of Damascus, the strikes resulted in the deaths of two individuals linked to Iranian factions. The operation specifically aimed at a Hezbollah weapons storage facility and several other locations, as per reports from The Times of Israel.
According to Syria’s official news outlet SANA, quoting military sources, the attacks caused significant property damage. The report detailed that Israeli aircraft launched the assault around 2:25 a.m. local time from the Golan Heights, focusing on multiple sites around Damascus.
While specific targets were not disclosed, Syrian officials claimed their air defenses managed to intercept some of the incoming Israeli missiles.
Videos surfaced on various social media platforms, shared by Syrian media, depicting a burning structure. These posts claimed Syrian forces were able to thwart some of the Israeli airstrikes, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
OSINTdefender, a digital intelligence monitoring entity, reported that Israeli jets fired at least eight missiles, striking positions of Iran-affiliated forces near Damascus. The group shared imagery of the assault.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in the UK, confirmed the death of “two foreign fighters” from pro-Iranian groups. The Observatory noted that the strikes obliterated a Hezbollah arms depot. It stated that the attacks occurred along the route to Damascus International Airport, targeting areas associated with Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias.
Israeli forces have frequently targeted areas around Damascus, southern Syria, and Aleppo since the onset of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in October, as covered by The Jerusalem Post.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged responsibility for some strikes in southern Syria but remained silent on other incidents reported by Syrian media.
Additionally, the IDF reported recent incidents of rockets launched from Syria toward Israel, including a drone strike on a school in Eilat, purportedly executed by a Syrian-based Iran-aligned militia group.
Syrian state media last week reported fatalities in the Sayyida Zeniab region following Israeli airstrikes. Two weeks prior, they announced that Israeli attacks resulted in the deaths of at least two individuals at Damascus International Airport.
Furthermore, Iraq’s al-Harir airbase, which houses U.S. and international forces, was reportedly targeted by an armed drone, as stated by Iraqi Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism unit, according to Reuters.
