Syria war monitor says 3 civilians among 6 dead in Israel strikes on Damascus

Syrian Observatory reports Israeli strikes in Damascus, killing civilians and fighters, escalating tensions in the region

A Syria war monitor said six people including three civilians were killed in Israeli strikes early Tuesday (October 1, 2024) targeting Damascus and its vicinity, amid fears of broader Israeli raids on the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted two vehicles in Damascus’s upscale Mazzeh district, as well as “air defence batteries at the (city’s) airport, and the vicinity of the Kisweh area”, south of the capital.

“Three civilians including a media worker” were killed, as well as three pro-Iran fighters, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.

Syrian state media had earlier reported that three civilians were killed in Israeli air strikes and nine others wounded, citing a military source.

“The Israeli enemy launched an air aggression with warplanes and drones from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several points in Damascus,” the official news agency SANA said. “Three civilians were killed, and nine others injured,” it added.

A State television said one of its anchors had been killed. Safaa Ahmad was “martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus”, it said.

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AFP correspondents heard four rounds of heavy bombardment over around half an hour, whose sound resonated across the Syrian capital.

In the Mazzeh neighbourhood, home to Syrian security headquarters and embassies, an AFP correspondent saw two mini-buses burnt to cinders in the targeted area.

A resident of a building that was hit, a 57-year-old who gave his name as Abu Mohammad, told AFP, “We heard the sound of a strong blast that threw me out of bed onto the floor, and seconds later we heard people scream and cry. From our balcony, we saw fire everywhere,” he said of himself and his family.

“We found a dead lady on the first floor with her children screaming beside her, but we couldn’t do anything for her.”

Since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters, including Hezbollah.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there. The strikes have increased in recent days, including on areas near the border with Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed into Syria over the past week, fleeing heavy Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.

Published - October 01, 2024 11:22 pm IST