Israel on Saturday hit a building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing five people in a building where “Iran-aligned leaders” were meeting, reported news agency AFP. The attack comes amid soaring regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
The attack occurred in the Mazzeh neighbourhood in the western part of the Syrian capital, with initial reports suggesting several casualties. Mazzeh is home to various diplomatic missions, including the Lebanese and Iranian embassies, reported Qatari news website Al Jazeera.
Four Iranian officers affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Damascus, including Hajj Sadeq, the head of the information unit in the Iranian Quds Force.
Kebab ya Habibi kebab Ya HALA
Iran is a terrorist state pic.twitter.com/KXfGdVSsx0
— Nedal Al-Amari (@nedalalamari) January 20, 2024
The report, quoting sources, stated that the target of the strike was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit. A senior IRGC intelligence official in Syria and his assistants were reportedly in the building at the time of the attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five casualties in a building where “Iran-aligned leaders” were meeting.
The Times Of Israel reported that the entire building was destroyed.
Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik shared a video of the damage caused by the Israeli missile attack.
📹 Netizens share videos of the alleged Israeli strike on a residential building in Damascus, Syria pic.twitter.com/668PRqrzk1
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) January 20, 2024
Syrian State TV confirmed the “Israeli aggression” targeting the building. Israel has conducted numerous strikes in government-controlled areas of Syria in recent years, often targeting Iran-allied groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel rarely acknowledges these actions explicitly.
Tensions in the region have escalated, with the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza and previous strikes in Damascus, including the killing of Iranian general Seyed Razi Mousavi last month. Rockets fired from Syria into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have contributed to heightened tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border. Additionally, attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have added to the complex regional situation.
