DAMASCUS, Nov. 9 — Israeli airstrikes hit military positions in southern Syria on Wednesday night, causing material damage, the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli forces carried out the strikes from the direction of Lebanon’s Baalbek city at approximately 22:22 local time (1922 GMT), targeting several military installations in the southern region, according to the statement.
While the statement did not identify the targeted sites, the pro-government Sham FM radio said the Israeli attacks hit positions in the vicinity of the capital Damascus and the southern province of Sweida.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported multiple explosions resulting from Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus.
The Israeli shelling targeted Aqraba’s farms in the countryside of Damascus, where a military air base is located, just 13 km west of the international airport of Damascus.
The attacks also hit a radar station southwest of Damascus, the observatory added.
The Syrian air defences were triggered and have attempted to thwart the Israeli attacks, according to the UK-based watchdog group.
Meanwhile, the observatory has counted 15 instances of Israeli attacks on Syrian territory between Oct. 10 and Oct. 30, among which 10 were airstrikes and five were missile attacks.
Israel has escalated its ground and air strikes on Syria significantly since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza on Oct. 7, said the war monitor.
Airstrikes, attributed to Israel, have hit Aleppo and Damascus airports several times in the past month. In addition, Israel said it had responded with artillery, mortar and airstrikes toward Syria in retaliation for several launches from Syria toward Israeli sites on the occupied Syrian Golan, said UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen days ago when briefing the UN Security Council of the development in Syria. (Xinhua)
