The Israeli army claimed on Monday to have carried out a strike in Damascus on Hezbollah intelligence targets for Syria, where the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement is strongly established, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting two deaths. in this attack.
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The Israeli army, which rarely comments on its attacks in Syriasaid in a statement that he “ carried out an air operation and struck […] targets belonging to the intelligence headquarters of the Hezbollah in Syria. »
She added that the Syrian intelligence branch of the Lebanese movement had “ an independent information collection, coordination and review network under the direct command of Hezbollah’s intelligence chief “.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) for its part reported an Israeli strike on Monday south of Damascus on “ a house on a farm in the Sayyida Zeinab sector used by members of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards “.
Two Hezbollah fighters, in open war against Israel since September 23, have been killed and five others injured, according to the Observatory, based in the United Kingdom and which has a vast network of sources in Syria. According to the OSDH, pro-Iranian groups are strongly established in the Sayyida Zeinab region, an important Shiite pilgrimage site.
Syria condemns the Israeli attack, citing the presence of “ civil areas »
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying it had targeted “ civil areas » south of Damascus and caused significant material damage. He made no mention of victims. Syrian state media reported that the strike took place around 5:18 p.m. and came from “ from the direction of the occupied Golan » by Israel.
“ I heard three successive explosions, including a very loud one. “, a resident of the region, Mehdi Mahfouz, 34, told AFP. He added that he subsequently saw “ a column of black smoke rising from farmland “. The explosions were heard in nearby neighborhoods, and ambulances rushed to the scene.
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Since the start of the civil war in 2011 in Syria, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on the country targeting the Syrian army, but especially groups supported by Tehran, notably Hezbollah, deployed in support of government forces.
The rate of these strikes has increased since September 23. Israel, which rarely comments on these raids, recently targeted crossing points between Syria and Lebanon to cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes.
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