Syria
Syrian air defense batteries responding to alleged Israeli missiles targeting Damascus on January 21, 2019. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A series of Israeli missiles targeted Damascus in Syria late Sunday night, the Syrian defense ministry said. No casualties were reported.
“Around 23:45 (11:45 pm) at night on May 28, 2023, the Israeli enemy performed an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan targeting some points in the vicinity of Damascus,” SANA reported.
“Our defense facilities countered the aggression missiles and shot down some of them,” it added.
No casualties were reported as a result of the strikes but material damages were inflicted.
Sunday’s attack marks the Israel’s 17th attack on Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor.
The strikes were also the first to target Damascus since late March.
On May 2, a barrage of Israeli missiles targeted Aleppo airport in northern Syria, killing nine people, including five Syrian army soldiers and three Iran-backed militias, according to SOHR.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its over a decade long civil war, often claiming to target pro-Iran militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which supports the Syrian army. However, it rarely claims responsibility for the attacks.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that attacks on Iranian targets in Syria have greatly increased since the new Israeli government took office late last year.
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.
“Around 23:45 (11:45 pm) at night on May 28, 2023, the Israeli enemy performed an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan targeting some points in the vicinity of Damascus,” SANA reported.
“Our defense facilities countered the aggression missiles and shot down some of them,” it added.
No casualties were reported as a result of the strikes but material damages were inflicted.
Sunday’s attack marks the Israel’s 17th attack on Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor.
The strikes were also the first to target Damascus since late March.
On May 2, a barrage of Israeli missiles targeted Aleppo airport in northern Syria, killing nine people, including five Syrian army soldiers and three Iran-backed militias, according to SOHR.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its over a decade long civil war, often claiming to target pro-Iran militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which supports the Syrian army. However, it rarely claims responsibility for the attacks.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that attacks on Iranian targets in Syria have greatly increased since the new Israeli government took office late last year.
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.
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