Syria reports Israeli airstrike near Damascus for the 3rd time in under a month
Syrian state media reported an Israeli attack near the capital Damascus in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, the third such report from Syria this month.
The state-run SANA broadcaster said Syrian air defenses had responded to the Israeli attack.
“Our air defenses confronted an Israeli aggression over the outskirts of Damascus,” the SANA news agency said.
Reporters from SANA and AFP said there were sounds of explosions in the area.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The Syrian military claims to shoot down incoming missiles after nearly every alleged Israeli strike, which Israeli military officials and civilian defense analysts largely dismiss as empty boasts.
SANA released a video claiming to show an air defense missile streaking through the night sky.
Syria reported two other Israeli attacks near Damascus earlier this month, including a rare daytime airstrike.
After the alleged daytime attack, local media reported explosions near the town of Masyaf, which is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks attributed to Israel.
In early March, Israeli strikes near Damascus killed two officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The Guards vowed to avenge the killings and subsequently launched strikes on what they claimed was an Israeli “strategic center” in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
As a rule, Israel’s military does not comment on specific strikes in Syria, but has acknowledged conducting hundreds of sorties against Iran-backed groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country. It says it also attacks arms shipments believed to be bound for those groups.
The Israeli strikes have continued in Syrian airspace, which is largely controlled by Russia, even since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine.
Israel has found itself at odds with Russia as it has increasingly supported Ukraine. However, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has avoided criticizing Russia directly as Israel seeks to maintain its freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.