Syrian air defenses thwarted an ‘Israeli aggression’ in Damascus atmosphere, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, explosions could be heard in the airspace of Damascaus’ countryside, SANA said citing its correspondent.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported Israeli strikes targeted Syrian air defense headquarters and sites of Iranian militias in Damascaus’ countryside.
Syrian State TV, Al-Ikhbariyah, reported that the “Israeli missiles” could be seen in Lebanon’s airspace.
This comes days after Syria’s military reported confronting “Israeli aggression” after midnight on Thursday in the Masyaf area in the Hama countryside, adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and downed most of them.
Masyaf is a significant military area for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime that includes a military academy and a scientific research center. Israel has struck targets there several times in the past.
Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have often struck inside Syria from Lebanese territory. But the Christmas Eve flights were louder than usual, frightening residents of Beirut who have endured multiple crises in the past year, including the catastrophic August 4 explosion at the city’s port that killed over 200 people and destroyed parts of the capital. That explosion resulted from the detonation of a stockpile of ammonium nitrates that was improperly stored at the facility.
In the past few years, Israel has acknowledged carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria, most of them aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.
– With The Associated Press
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Last Update: Wednesday, 30 December 2020 KSA 03:31 – GMT 00:31
