Israeli airstrike kills five in Damascus, Syrian officials say
Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes in the country aimed at Iranian-backed groups or Iranian weapons transfers to its proxies
A photo of a reported Israeli airstrike in Damascus in 2019. Photo by Yousseff Karwashan/AFP/Getty Images
(JTA) — An Israeli airstrike on a building in central Damascus on Saturday killed five people and injured 15, according to Syrian officials.
The strike occurred in the neighborhood of Kafr Sousa, which is the site of Iranian security institutions, according to Reuters. Iran and its proxy militias have had a heavy presence in Syria for years in order to support its government in the country’s civil war. Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes in the country aimed at that presence or at Iranian weapons transfers to its proxies.
Israel rarely acknowledges those operations publicly, and did not comment on Saturday’s airstrikes.
Russia, another Syrian ally, condemned the strikes.
The Citadel of Damascus, a historic landmark, was also damaged in the incident, though Syrian sources told Reuters that the area of the citadel was hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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