Israel has carried out at least two airstrikes on a western neighborhood of Damascus and one of the capital’s suburbs.
According to Syria’s state news agency, this resulted in the death of at least 15 people and wounded another 16, “including women and children, as an initial toll, along with significant material damage to private property and the targeted and neighboring buildings.”
The news agency said that the airstrikes on the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus and the suburb of Qudsaya northwest of the capital struck two buildings.
The Israeli military said that it had hit infrastructure sites and command centers of the Islamic Jihad militant group in Syria, and had “inflicted significant damage to the terrorist organization’s command center and to its operatives.”
The Israeli military said that Islamic Jihad had participated alongside Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip, in the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The military added that it “will continue to operate against the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization wherever necessary.”
An official with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Group, spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the strike in Mazzeh targeted one of their offices, and that several members of the group were killed.
Syria’s state news agency disclosed that the country’s air defenses were activated against a “hostile target” south of the central city of Homs. It gave no further details.
The airstrikes in Damascus and the nearby suburb came shortly before Ali Larijani, an Adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was scheduled to meet in the Syrian capital with representatives of Palestinian factions at the Iranian Embassy in Mazzeh.
Tehran has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government since a 2011 uprising turned into full-blown civil war and has played an instrumental role in turning the tide of the conflict in his favor.
Iran has sent scores of military advisers and thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the Middle East to Syria to fight on Assad’s side. Tehran has also been an economic lifeline for Assad, sending fuel and credit lines worth billions of dollars.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria targeting members of neighboring Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officials from Iranian-backed groups.
Syrian President Receives Ali Larijani
Syria’s President Bashar Assad received Senior Advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Larijani, with talks dealing with the latest developments in the region, particularly the Israeli ongoing aggression on Palestine and Lebanon and the need to stop this aggression.
The talks also tackled bilateral relations between the two countries and means of enhancing them in the interests of both peoples and countries of the region.
President Assad emphasized adherence to the Palestinian historic rights and support for the struggle of the Lebanese and Palestinian people with all means.
He also called for an end to the “massacres and mass genocide crimes.”
Larijani, also member of Expediency Discernment Council, stressed his country’s standing by Syria and its willingness to provide all forms of support for it.
He hailed Syria’s pivotal role in the region and aspiration to boost this role in the service of regional states and its people.
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