Israel struck early this morning weapons depots of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah in the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus, AFP reported, citing information from a Syrian non-governmental organization. The agency specifies that this is the second such attack by the Israeli army within 48 hours.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “weapons depots were targeted in the area of the city of Yabrud”, located north of Damascus.
The warehouses “were destroyed and a fire broke out,” said the UK-based non-governmental organization, which did not report any casualties.
A military source cited by Syrian media in turn reported “air aggression by the Israeli enemy from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several military positions” in the Damascus area. According to this information, the Syrian air defense shot down several missiles.
Earlier today, the Syrian Ministry of Defense, quoted by Reuters, said that Israel launched missile strikes against several military targets in the vicinity of Damascus, causing “material damage”.
On March 1, three people were killed and seven wounded in an airstrike on a house near the Syrian port city of Banias in what was believed to be an Israeli attack. The killed were a member of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and two representatives of Hezbollah, AFP recalls, quoted by BTA.
Iran is a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s nearly 12-year civil war.
Tehran and Hezbollah’s support for the government in Damascus prompts Israel to carry out regular airstrikes aimed at curbing Iran’s regional influence, according to Reuters.
Israel’s military announced last week that it had hit “about 4,500 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon and Syria, including “over 1,200” with airstrikes, since the start of Israel’s war with the Palestinian radical movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. erupted on October 7 last year.
AFP also clarifies that Israel does not often comment on its strikes, but assures that it will not allow a pro-Iranian presence on Israel’s borders.
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