ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A barrage of Israeli missiles hit several locations in Syria in the early hours of Sunday, including the center of Damascus and an area believed to host members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its militias, causing casualties, a war monitor reported.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that at least 15 people had been killed in an Israeli attack targeting “Iranian militia and Lebanese Hezbollah” near an Iranian cultural center outside Damascus, near Sayeda Zainab area. It added that some of the projectiles hit Kafr Sousa, an area where senior officials and intelligence bases are located.
Out of the at least 15 killed, "seven of them are Syrian," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of SOHR, told Rudaw English.
“At 00:22am the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several areas in Damascus and its vicinity, including residential neighborhoods,” Syrian state media reported, adding that at least five people, including a soldier, and 15 civilians were injured.
Iran state media reported the news of the attack but made no mention of Iranian military personnel.
A defense reporter from IRGC’s Tasnimnews tweeted shortly after the attack and said that there were no Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel killed or wounded in the attack.
Footage posted by Syria’s SANA showed the aftermath of the attack with large chunks from the buildings hit lying on the streets below and windows missing from residential buildings. This marks the first attack targeting residential areas in the Syrian capital. Significant damage was also caused to the medieval Citadel of Damascus.
-#Israel raids”#Iran targets” S/#Syria
— Ibrahim Hamidi ابراهيم حميدي (@ibrahimhamidi) February 18, 2023
-15 people killed in Damascus
-First time in center of #Damascus
- first time after earthquake
- Sayeda Zeinab area S/Damascus
- Bombing after an Israeli visit to Kiev
-What is #Russia's position?#SOHR pic.twitter.com/jKa2123TAl
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria, as well as Deir ez-Zor, throughout its 11-year civil war, often claiming to target Iran-affiliated militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah group which supports the Syrian army.
However, Israeli officials rarely acknowledge or make any comments on the attacks in Syria.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war consisting of long-running covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as sabotage and cyber-attacks. Iranian fighters are also frequently targeted in suspected Israeli strikes in Syria. Israel regularly targets IRGC positions in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been vocal about his opposition to Tehran obtaining a nuclear weapon and his perception of Iran as a threat to Israeli national security. During his previous term as prime minister, numerous attacks were carried out on Iranian interests in Iran and Syria.
At the end of last year, head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Operations Directorate, MG Oded Basiuk warned that Israel would “not accept Hezbollah 2.0 in Syria.”
Last month, missile strikes on Damascus International Airport killed four people, including two Iranian militia members.
The missile attack comes at a time when the Syrian government is recovering from a deadly earthquake that struck the north of the country, killing over 5,800 people.
On Thursday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said his country was “committed to the sovereignty” of Ukraine during the first visit by an Israeli official since the Russian invasion began almost a year ago. In the past year, Israel has balanced its stance in order to maintain its friendly relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, but the visit shows a possible shift in policy. Cohen stopped short however of pledging any weapons despite months-long requests by Ukraine.
Russia has strongly backed the Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad who has also received substantial support from Iran. Iranian-backed militia and Hezbollah also maintain a prevalent military presence in Syria.
