Israeli Aggression on Syria: 16 Killed by Netanyahu Airstrikes. Russia “Major War’s Risks”
by Carlo Domenico Cristofori
More than a dozen people – almost 16 according to the latest report – have been killed and many others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Syria, the state-run Sana news agency has reported. Israeli warplanes attacked several targets near the city of Masyaf in the country’s western-central Hama Governorate late on Sunday, a military source told the agency.
The death toll from the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) airstrikes on facilities near the Syrian city of Masyaf in the Hama Governorate has risen to 16, the state-run SANA news agency reported, citing local health department chief Maher Younes.
Some of the missiles, which had been fired by jets from Lebanese airspace, were shot down by Syrian air defenses, the source added.The strikes damaged the main road between Masyaf and the town of Wadi al-Uyun and caused a major blaze in another area, Sana cited the source as saying.
“The number of martyrs from the Israeli aggression on several sites in Masyaf area has reached to 14 martyrs and 43 wounded, six of whom are in critical condition”, Director of Masyaf National Hospital, Dr. Fayssal Haidar, said in a statement to SANA.
Sana has also published photos appearing to show wounded people on hospital beds and a fire in a wooded area.
The Times of Israel claimed that the targeted area had been used as a base by Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias. It hosts the Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS or SSRC), which Israel believes is used by Tehran to produce precision surface-to-surface missiles, the newspaper added.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which has a policy of not discussing its operations outside the country, has not commented on the attack.
In the first aggression, Israeli warplanes fired over 15 missiles in three coordinated waves, attacking from two different directions. One axis was from the Mediterranean Sea, passing over Idlib in northern Syria, a region with limited air defenses. The second axis was from northern Lebanon, where Syrian air defenses managed to neutralize and destroy the majority of the missiles.
Although Syrian air defenses initially thwarted the first wave of the attack, Israel responded by unleashing a “belt of fire” with an increased volume of missile launches. Unfortunately, some missiles managed to hit their targets.
In early April, what is thought to be an Israeli airstrike destroyed Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing seven officers from Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two high-ranking generals. Tehran retaliated a few weeks later by launching a massive missile and drone barrage against Israeli military facilities.
Israel has repeatedly struck Syrian territory since the outbreak of the civil war in the neighboring country in 2011, with the aim of reducing the presence of its arch-rival Iran. Tehran – together with Moscow – is assisting Damascus in its fight against terrorist groups.
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During his previous tenure as Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged at one point that “hundreds” of such attacks had taken place over the years. The Syrian authorities have condemned the Israeli attacks and have raised the issue at the UN, insisting that the airstrikes violate the country’s sovereignty and international law.
Lavrov: “Russia works for preventing major war in Middle East”
The Middle East is on the verge of a major regional war and Russia is working with all sides for preventing it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a session of the Strategic Dialogue between Russia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC).
“The inability of the world community to stop the hostilities in the Gaza Strip and the mass deaths of its residents has led to a sharp deterioration of the military and political situation in the entire region – from the border of Lebanon and Israel to the Red Sea,” Lavrov said. “At the same time, the confrontation between Israel and Lebanon has reached a new dangerous level.
The Middle East is once again on the threshold of a major regional war. It is our common responsibility not to let it happen.” “We are working with all sides to normalize the situation,” Lavrov said.
More than 500,000 Israelis protesting in Tel Aviv
More than half a million Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, calling for the soonest release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip for 11 months and for early elections in Israel, a TASS correspondent reported.
According to organizers of the rally, similar protests took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Kfar Sava, Be’er Sheva, Netanya, Rehovot and Rishon LeZion, in which tens of thousands of Israelis took part. According to the organizers, the rally in Tel Aviv brought together the largest ever number of protesters.
At the end of the rally in Tel Aviv, hundreds of protesters refused to leave, but some of them began blocking the Ayalon highway in eastern part of the capital. Police said the rally was illegal and detained several demonstrators. Some protesters called for the immediate resignation of the Benjamin Netanyahu government and for the early elections in Israel as soon as possible.
Israel is sparing no effort to reach the goal of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“We (the Israelis) are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes,” he said at a regular government meeting.
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READ MORE: Israel strikes target near Damascus – media
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