Israel launched at the very least two airstrikes on Damascus’ western Mazzeh neighborhood and a suburb to the northwest on Thursday, killing at the very least 15 folks and injuring 16, based on Syria’s state news company.
The strikes focused two buildings in Mazzeh and Qudsaya, with one missile damaging a five-story constructing’s basement, an Associated Press (AP) journalist reported.
The Israeli navy confirmed it struck infrastructure and command facilities linked to the Islamic Jihad group in Syria, claiming vital injury to the group’s operations and management.
The airstrikes in Damascus and the close by suburb got here shortly earlier than Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was scheduled to satisfy within the Syrian capital with representatives of Palestinian factions on the Iranian Embassy in Mazzeh.
The Israeli navy mentioned Islamic Jihad had participated alongside Hamas, the Palestinian group within the Gaza Strip, within the Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 folks and noticed 250 others kidnapped into Gaza.
The navy mentioned it “will proceed to function in opposition to Islamic Jihad wherever vital.”
Israel’s rampage has spilled into the broader area, affecting Lebanon, Syria and resulting in strikes between Israel and Iran.
The conflict has left a lot of Gaza in ruins and has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, largely girls and kids, based on native well being authorities.
An official with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Group mentioned the strike in Mazzeh focused one among their places of work, and that a number of members of the group have been killed.
The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he wasn’t licensed to talk to the media.
Syria’s state news company SANA mentioned that the nation’s air defenses have been activated in opposition to a “hostile target” south of the central metropolis of Homs. It gave no additional particulars.
Tehran has been a important backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s authorities since a 2011 rebellion was a full-blown civil conflict and has performed an instrumental position in turning the tide of the battle in his favor.
Iran has despatched scores of navy advisers to Syria to struggle on Assad’s facet.
Tehran has additionally been an financial lifeline for Assad, sending gasoline and credit score strains price billions of {dollars}.
Israel has carried out a whole lot of airstrikes in Syria concentrating on members of neighboring Lebanon’s Hezbollah and officers from Iranian-backed teams.
Hezbollah started firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Since then, greater than 3,200 folks have been killed in Lebanon and greater than 14,200 wounded, the nation’s Health Ministry reported.
Lebanon’s state media mentioned an Israeli airstrike Thursday hit a constructing in Baalbek metropolis in jap Lebanon, killing at the very least 9 folks and wounding 5 others.
The strike on Baalbek got here with out warning. The Israeli navy didn’t instantly remark, and the goal was not clear.
Israeli warplanes intensified airstrikes on Thursday, concentrating on varied areas in southern and jap Lebanon, together with the outskirts of the southern port metropolis of Tyre and the Nabatieh province, the National News Agency mentioned.
Throughout the day, sporadic airstrikes focused Beirut’s southern suburbs in a transparent uptick in assaults on the realm over the previous two days, with the Israeli military issuing evacuation warnings for a number of places and buildings within the suburbs.
The Israeli navy mentioned it carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets within the Dahiyeh space, together with weapons storage amenities and command facilities.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry mentioned the dying toll in Lebanon for the reason that conflict started on Oct. 8, 2023, has reached 3,365, whereas these wounded are 14,344.
Nearly 1.2 million folks have been displaced.
Before the conflict intensified on Sept. 23, Hezbollah mentioned that it had misplaced practically 500 members, however the group has stopped releasing statements about their killed members since.
United Nations peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, talking throughout a go to to Lebanon, mentioned the U.N. stays dedicated to holding its peacekeeping power, referred to as UNIFIL, in place in all of its positions in southern Lebanon, regardless of intense ongoing battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah members.
UNIFIL has continued to observe the escalating battle between Israel and Hezbollah throughout the boundary referred to as the Blue Line, regardless of Israeli requires peacekeepers to drag again 5 kilometers (three miles) from the border.
UNIFIL has accused Israel of intentionally destroying remark gear, and 13 peacekeepers have been injured within the combating.
Lacroix visited a number of the wounded peacekeepers throughout his journey.
UNIFIL forces “proceed to be deployed in all of the positions, and we expect it is extremely necessary to protect that presence in every single place,” Lacroix mentioned. “Had we vacated some of the positions, that would have certainly jeopardized the capacity for UNIFIL to continue today, but probably even more importantly, that would have significantly undermined the capacity for UNIFIL to play a role, tomorrow, when the cessation of hostilities takes place – hopefully sooner than later.”
Lacroix mentioned there may be nonetheless a “giant consensus that Resolution 1701 stays the crucial framework for settlement,” referring to the U.N. Security Council decision that ended the brutal monthlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 however which has by no means been totally applied by both social gathering.
Source: www.dailysabah.com