An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing at least four Iranians, Syrian and Iranian state media reported. The Syrian army said the building in the tightly guarded western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh was entirely destroyed, adding that the Israeli air force fired the missiles while flying over Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.
Quick Read
- Israeli Strike in Damascus: An Israeli strike targeted a building in Damascus, Syria, used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, killing at least four Iranians.
- Syrian Army Report: Syrian army reported the building’s complete destruction, with the Israeli air force launching missiles from the Golan Heights.
- Drone Strike in Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike near Tyre, Lebanon, killed two Hezbollah members and two others.
- Identified Casualties: Among those killed were Hezbollah commander Ali Hudruj and two senior Iranian military figures, Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh and his deputy.
- Deaths and Discrepancies: Reports vary on the number and identity of casualties; the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported six deaths, including five Iranians.
- Search and Rescue Efforts: Security efforts intensified around the destroyed building; search for survivors ongoing.
- Eyewitness Accounts: Nearby residents and shopkeepers reported multiple explosions and the aftermath.
- Context of Regional Tensions: The strike adds to tensions in the region, especially with Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza.
- Previous Israeli Strikes: Israel has previously targeted Iranian and Hezbollah figures in Syria and Lebanon.
- Iranian Presence in Syria: Iran has acknowledged having advisers and military experts in Syria, aiding President Bashar Assad.
- Israel’s Strikes in Syria: Israel has conducted numerous strikes in Syria, targeting Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah.
- Recent Incidents: Israeli strikes have recently killed Iranian and Palestinian operatives; increased tensions along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria, and Red Sea shipping attacks.
The Associated Press has the story:
An Israeli airstrike on Syrian Capital killed at least 4 Iranian advisers, officials say
Newslooks- DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) —
An Israeli strike on the Syrian capital on Saturday destroyed a building used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, killing at least four Iranians, Syrian and Iranian state media reported.
The Syrian army said the building in the tightly guarded western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh was entirely destroyed, adding that the Israeli air force fired the missiles while flying over Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike.
A few hours later, an Israeli drone strike on a car near the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre killed two Hezbollah members who were in the vehicle and two people who were in a nearby orchard, an official with the group and state news agency said. One of those killed was Ali Hudruj, a local Hezbollah commander, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, without giving further details.
Nour News, which is believed to be close to Iran’s intelligence apparatus, identified two of the dead in Damascus as Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh, the intelligence deputy of the guard’s expeditionary Quds Force in Syria, and his deputy, who goes by the nom de guerre Hajj Gholam. The guard later issued a statement identifying the dead as Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi and Saeed Karimi. It gave no ranks for them. The difference in information could not be immediately reconciled.
An opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least six people — five Iranians and a Syrian — were killed in the missile attack that struck while officials from Iran-backed groups were holding a meeting. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, said three of the Iranians were commanders, adding that four other people are still missing under the rubble.
Security forces deployed around the destroyed four-story building as ambulances and fire engines were seen in the area. A search for people trapped under the rubble was underway. Windows were also shattered in nearby buildings.
A grocer near the scene of the strike said he heard five consecutive explosions at about 10:15 a.m., adding that he later witnessed the bodies of a man and a woman being taken away as well as three wounded people.
“The shop shook. I stayed inside for few seconds then went out and saw the smoke billowing from behind the mosque,” the man, who asked that his name not be used for security reasons, told The Associated Press.
“What happened was terrifying. I collapsed,” said Khaled Mawed, who lives nearby.
The strike came amid widening tensions in the region as Israel pushes ahead with its offensive in Gaza. Israel’s assault there, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, caused widespread destruction and uprooted over 80% of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
Israel launched the offensive after an unprecedented cross-border attack into Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage. Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas captivity. The war has stoked tensions across the region, threatening to ignite other conflicts.
Last month, an Israeli airstrike on a suburb of Damascus killed Iranian general Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria. Israel has also targeted Palestinian and Lebanese operatives in Syria over the past years.
Iranian and Syrian officials have long acknowledged Iran has advisers and military experts in Syria, but denied there were any ground troops. Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups took part in Syria’s conflict that started in March 2011, helping tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years.
Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Earlier this month, a strike said to be carried out by Israel killed top Hamas commander Saleh Arouri in Beirut.
Over the past weeks, rockets have been fired from Syria into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, adding to tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border and attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
