Suspected Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus and the surrounding area
BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit the area of Damascus early Wednesday, Syrian state media reported.
Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported that Syria’s air defenses had shot down “most of” the missiles. It said in a statement, citing military sources, that two soldiers were injured and there were “some material losses” from the airstrikes.
Israeli authorities did not comment immediately.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said the strikes marked the 20th time Israel has struck targets in Syria this year.
The observatory said the strikes had hit military sites and warehouses of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government, causing the outbreak of a fire.
Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.
The lasted reported Israeli airstrikes in Syria were on July 2, when Syria’s military said Israel had carried out airstrikes on areas near the central Syrian city of Homs, causing material damage but no casualties.
A Syrian anti-aircraft missile exploded over Israeli territory, the Israeli military said, prompting another round of strikes.
Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past few years, often putting it out of commission.