Israeli Airstrikes Hit Near Syria's Capital Damascus

A social media photo of an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike at a weapons laboratory known to be used by Iran in area of Masyaf in Hama province on April 9, 2022
A social media photo of an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike at a weapons laboratory known to be used by Iran in area of Masyaf in Hama province on April 9, 2022

Syrian state television says Israeli airstrikes hit several locations in the countryside west of the capital Damascus on Thursday.

SANA, citing a military source, said Syrian air defenses had shot down "some" of the missiles fired.

Saying the strikes only caused physical damage but did not specify further, it added “An Israeli air raid targeted certain positions near Damascus”.

Saudi state-owned Al-Hadath TV reported the attack targeted Iranian radar systems.

The last airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel was on Saturday during the daytime, which is rare.

Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have deployed over the last decade to support President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's war.

A pro-government allied commander denied to Reuters that Thursday's strikes had hit their positions outside Damascus.

The Thursday night strike happened only a day after the commander of the IRGC's Qods (Quds) Force Esmail Qa’ani gave a lengthy address saying Israel is "too small to confront us" and expressed Iran’s support for all those who fight against “the Zionist regime” and speed up its destruction.

In March, an Israeli attack over the Syrian capital Damascus killed two officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and left some material damage.

The IRGC vowed to avenge the killings and subsequently launched ballistic strikes on what they claimed was an Israeli “strategic center” in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region capital, Erbil.

Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria mostly since 2017, but its government rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

With reporting from Reuters