Israeli jets strike Damascus, Syria confronts ‘hostile missiles’ – report

The IDF has remained silent on the report, as it usually does after reported operations in Syria.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacked targets near Damascus in Syria on Monday, the country’s state media reported, causing damage to the targets.

SANA news reported that the Syrian army’s air defenses “confronted an Israeli missile aggression that targeted some sites [in the] Damascus southern countryside and downed most of the hostile missiles.”

Only material damage was caused by the attack, the report claimed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the IAF targeted military sites in the al-Kiswah area, in which the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization and the Syrian army are deployed.

These targets have previously been bombed by Israeli forces.

The IDF has remained silent on the report, as it usually does after reported operations in Syria.

This was the 14th Israeli attack on Syrian territory since the beginning of 2022, according to the SOHR’s count.

Iran routinely attempts to arm the Lebanon-based Hezbollah with advanced weapons. Israel has exposed and thwarted multiple attempts by Iran to transfer game-changing weapons to Hezbollah, including by air shipments from Iran, through Damascus Airport.

Over the years, the IAF has carried out thousands of attacks to thwart the Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country and to prevent Hezbollah from accumulating advanced weapons.

According to the SOHR, the IAF conducted 29 strikes in Syria throughout 2021. The attacks hit 71 targets and killed 130 people, including 125 combatants from the Syrian military, Hezbollah and Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

The Damascus area was the most attacked area in 2021, with 12 attacks out of the 29. The Damascus airport, which serves as an entry point for weapons coming from Iran on their way to Hezbollah in Lebanon, was one of the main targets.