Israeli airstrike hits Syrian capital Damascus again
- 4 hours ago
Syrian state-run media said Israel struck the upscale Mazzeh district of Damascus on Friday, the second such attack in two days to hit the neighbourhood home to embassies, security headquarters and United Nations offices.
Attacks blamed on or claimed by Israel have intensified in Syria, including in areas near the Lebanese border mainly targeting bastions of the Lebanese movement Hizbollah.
Israel went to war with the Iran-backed group -- which is also allied with Syria -- in September following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the Gaza war.
"Israeli aggression targets Mazzeh area in Damascus," the official SANA news agency said on Friday, after reporting a deadly Israeli strike on the district a day earlier.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the strikes targeted a "military housing complex" in Mazzeh.
"Fire trucks and ambulances headed to the targeted site amid reports of casualties, with security services and regime forces completely cordoning off the targeted site," the Observatory said.
Israeli strikes on Thursday in and around Damascus killed 23 people, according to the Britain-based monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
Thursday's strike on Mazzeh killed 13 people, including civilians and Iran-backed fighters, while an attack on the outskirts of Damascus killed 10 Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters, the monitor said.
Islamic Jihad has fought alongside Hamas against Israeli forces in Gaza and has been at war with Israel before.
Agence France-Presse
