The Syrian government announced several Israeli strikes on Damascus

The Syrian Defense Ministry and state media announced Thursday that the Israeli strike targeted the area around Damascus, the Syrian capital, in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“Today at approximately 23:05 (2005 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting targets in the southern region,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement, without mentioning any casualties. “Our air defense is intercepting enemy targets in the vicinity of Damascus,” the official Syrian agency SANA previously wrote. “The Israeli attack targeted the outskirts of the capital Damascus,” state television added.

The surrounding area of ​​the international airport was attacked

Israel rarely comments on strikes in Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-enemy Iran, which backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government, to expand its presence there. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes targeted Syrian air defense positions in the southern region of Suwayda and the area of ​​Damascus International Airport.

The attack near the airport came 24 hours after the resumption of flights that had been suspended following the Israeli attack in late November, just hours after they resumed following similar attacks the previous month, said the London-based NGO, which has a large network of correspondents. in Syria.

Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against its northern neighbor, mostly targeting Iranian-backed forces, including the Lebanese Ayatollah’s militia, as well as Syrian army positions. But since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, it has stepped up its attacks as tensions in the Middle East rise.