Fifteen people were killed and 16 others injured in Israeli strikes on Damascus in Syria, state media SANA reported. The strikes targeted several residential buildings in the upscale Mezzah neighborhood in the capital and the Qudsaya area in the Damascus countryside. Among those killed were women and children, as reported by Syrian state media.
The Israeli military stated that it was targeting Islamic Jihad in Syria and had caused significant damage to the organization's command center and operatives. Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, confirmed that the strike killed some of its members but denied Israel's claims that military headquarters were targeted.
Syria's foreign ministry condemned the strikes as 'brutal crimes,' following a recent Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh that had condemned Israel's aggression on Syrian territory. This latest assault comes after a series of Israeli airstrikes in Syria over the weekend, which resulted in civilian casualties and injuries.
The Sayyidah Zaynab area, south of Damascus city, known for its Hezbollah presence, has been a recent target of Israeli attacks. The Israeli military also targeted smuggling routes between Lebanon and Syria, alleging they were used to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, the Syrian defense ministry reported an Israeli strike on bridges on the Syria-Lebanon border in the Qusayr area of Homs countryside, causing significant damage. These incidents highlight the ongoing tensions and violence in the region, with civilian casualties and infrastructure damage being a tragic consequence of the conflict.
