Islam Times - Syria Condemns Deadly Israel Air Strikes on Civilian Sites near Damascus

Islam Times - Syria’s Foreign Ministry has called on the United Nations to respond after Israeli air strikes south of Damascus killed two people and injured five others, according to Syrian state media.

The strikes occurred Monday evening around 5:18 pm local time (14:18 GMT), with Israeli warplanes targeting “civilian sites south of Damascus,” resulting in material damage, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited a military source as saying.

“The Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights,” the source added.

In a statement, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the assault as “criminal” and urged United Nations member states to take “urgent action” to halt “Israeli aggression” and hold those responsible to account.

“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns the aggression launched by the Zionist entity this evening,” the statement read. “Syria calls on United Nations member states to take urgent and firm measures to stop the Israeli aggression and hold its perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”

According to reports, the strikes hit three locations in the Sayyidah Zaynab area, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Damascus. The first targeted the Kaou Sudan junction, an area crowded with displaced people who had fled recent violence in Lebanon. The second strike hit near a hotel southeast of Sayyidah Zaynab, and the third targeted nearby farmhouses.

Two people were reportedly killed, and five were seriously wounded in the strikes.

Early Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force claimed it had targeted what it called “Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters” in Syria, including a post on social media detailing the attack’s objective, adding that the attack aimed to degrade Hezbollah’s intelligence capabilities.

The Sayyidah Zaynab area, known for its Shiite shrine, has been subject to prior Israeli strikes.

Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes in Syria in recent years, typically refraining from acknowledging responsibility. However, these attacks have intensified since October 7, when the Israeli regime began a genocidal war against the people of the Gaza Strip following Palestinian resistance groups’ attack in retaliation for decades of Zionist aggressions.