Syria Says Israeli Missiles Hit Damascus, Aleppo Airports

Israeli Merkava tanks advance to a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. AFP
Israeli Merkava tanks advance to a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. AFP
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Syria Says Israeli Missiles Hit Damascus, Aleppo Airports

Israeli Merkava tanks advance to a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. AFP
Israeli Merkava tanks advance to a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 11, 2023. AFP

Syria said Israeli forces launched simultaneous missile attacks on the international airports in its capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo on Thursday, damaging the runways and putting both hubs out of service.
A Syrian military source cited by state news agency SANA said "bursts of missiles" hit the two airports at the same time, in what he said was a bid to distract the world's attention from
Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
The Israeli military declined to comment.

Israel has for years carried out strikes against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, including against the Aleppo and Damascus airports.
Sources have said strikes on the airports are intended to disrupt Iranian supply lines to Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that started in 2011.
Thursday's strikes came a day before Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, was due to visit Syria to meet officials over the volatile situation in the region.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip, in retribution for the deadliest attack on civilians in its history when hundreds of gunmen crossed the barrier and rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday.
Tehran has celebrated the Hamas attacks but denied being behind them.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.