A conflict monitoring group reported that Israeli airstrikes in and around Damascus resulted in the deaths of 20 individuals, including Palestinian militants and fighters backed by Iran, as the assaults increased amid the Lebanon war.
These strikes coincided with a visit to Damascus by Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Recently, Israel has intensified its strikes on Syria, particularly in regions close to the Lebanese border, primarily aiming at strongholds of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Since September, Israel has been engaged in conflict with this Iran-backed group.
The Mazzeh neighborhood, hosting embassies, United Nations facilities, and security headquarters, has previously been the target of strikes attributed to Israel.
“Israeli airstrikes destroyed three multi-storey buildings in Mazzeh, resulting in 10 fatalities,” stated the Observatory, which has a network of informants within Syria.
Among the deceased were at least three civilians and two non-Syrian fighters supported by Iran.
In Qudsaya, Israeli jets targeted “an apartment complex housing Palestinians, killing 10 individuals, including at least three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement,” the monitor reported.
An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed, “we targeted Islamic Jihad military bases in Syria,” marking a rare acknowledgment of responsibility for strikes in the conflict-ridden nation.
Islamic Jihad has collaborated with Hamas against Israeli forces in Gaza and has faced off with Israel previously.
Earlier, Syria’s defense ministry reported that the twin Israeli airstrikes claimed 15 lives after “attacking residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus and the Qudsaya area in the outskirts of Damascus.”
A building in Mazzeh, situated west of the capital, was struck during the assaults.
According to residents who fled following recent strikes that resulted in the deaths of key figures from the groups, commanders from the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are known to reside in Mazzeh.
Iran and Hezbollah have emerged as some of the most significant allies of the Syrian government throughout the civil war that began in 2011.
Lebanon reported 12 fatalities in an Israeli strike near Baalbek.
Lebanon announced that at least 12 individuals perished in an Israeli attack targeting the main civil defense facility in the eastern Baalbek region, with rescuers confirming eight among the dead.
“The strike by the Israeli enemy on a civil defense center in Douris resulted in 12 fatalities,” stated the Lebanese health ministry, noting that body parts were recovered and rescue efforts were ongoing.
The ministry condemned “the second Israeli attack on an emergency health facility within less than two hours” following an earlier incident that claimed the lives of Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers. Civil Defense reported, “eight personnel from the… Baalbek regional center lost their lives.”
Previously, a senior Lebanese official hinted that Hezbollah is prepared to withdraw its forces from the Lebanese-Israeli border in any ceasefire agreement but dismisses Israel’s request for the ability to act against the Iran-backed group in the future.
Continuing its offensive against Hezbollah, Israel launched airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs for the third consecutive day, demolishing more buildings in the area of the Lebanese capital under the group’s control.
Israel’s terms demand Hezbollah to eliminate fighters and weaponry from regions between the border and the Litani River, situated roughly 30km from Lebanon’s southern border.
Smoke was seen rising after an Israeli airstrike on the Chouaifet neighborhood in southern Beirut.
The United States and other world powers assert that a ceasefire must abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates that areas south of the Litani must be free of any arms other than those of the Lebanese state.
Since initiating an offensive against Hezbollah in late September, Israel has dealt heavy blows to the group, launching airstrikes, deploying troops in the south, and eliminating top Hezbollah leaders, including Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Despite the setbacks, Hezbollah has maintained its rocket fire into Israel and has been engaged in combat with Israeli troops in the south, where Israel reported six soldiers were killed in action.
Israel has frequently complained about the lack of implementation of the resolution, citing Hezbollah’s weapons and fighters stationed at the border. Conversely, Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the resolution, as Israeli warplanes routinely breach its airspace.
As strikes continued, smoke plumes rose over Beirut, with raids also extending to southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, where overnight airstrikes and artillery shelling caused significant damage to buildings and residential areas, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
The Israeli military announced that its fighter jets executed a series of strikes in southern Beirut, targeting weapons depots, military headquarters, and other infrastructures utilized by Hezbollah.
Five individuals were reported dead due to airstrikes in the towns of Bazourieh and Jumayjimah, NNA disclosed.
Lebanese authorities confirmed 21 casualties resulting from today’s strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, many of which have been largely evacuated.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, Israeli attacks have resulted in at least 3,386 fatalities and injured 14,417 across Lebanon since October 7, 2023.
Hezbollah’s actions have reportedly resulted in the deaths of approximately 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the past year, as per Israeli sources.
HRW charges Israel with ‘war crimes’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza.
Israel refuted accusations made by Human Rights Watch that its forces forcibly displaced Gazans and that their actions over more than a year of conflict amount to “crimes against humanity”.
“Time and again, HRW’s portrayal of Israel’s actions in Gaza is entirely false and disconnected from reality,” stated foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein on X.
A report from the New York-based rights organization claimed to have “gathered evidence that Israeli officials are… committing the war crime of forcible transfer.”
“Statements from senior officials with command responsibility indicate that forced displacement is intentional and constitutes part of Israeli state policy, consequently amounting to a crime against humanity,” added Human Rights Watch.
HRW asserted that its 172-page report’s conclusions were based on interviews with displaced Gazans, satellite imagery, and public records collected until August 2024.
According to the United Nations, 1.9 million Palestinians had been displaced in Gaza as of October 2024.
“Contrary to claims in HRW’s report, Israel’s actions are aimed solely at dismantling Hamas’s terror capabilities, not at the civilian population of Gaza,” remarked Mr. Marmorstein.
He further alleged that the Palestinian militant group Hamas “uses civilians as human shields and embeds terror infrastructure within residential areas.”
“Israel will continue to operate in compliance with the law of armed conflict,” the spokesperson added.
The United Nations indicated that 1.9 million Palestinians had been displaced in Gaza as of October 2024. Prior to the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, the territory’s official population stood at 2.4 million.
Israel commenced its offensive in Gaza following Hamas’s unprecedented assault that resulted in 1,206 deaths, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, which includes hostages who were killed while in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory actions have led to at least 43,736 fatalities in Gaza, with the majority being civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations validates as reliable.
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