Syrian Ministry Says Israel Strikes Damascus Area

Smoke billows from buildings near Damas after an Israeli attack during the night of July 1, 2019. © Youssef Karwashan, AFP (archives)
Smoke billows from buildings near Damas after an Israeli attack during the night of July 1, 2019. © Youssef Karwashan, AFP (archives)
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Syrian Ministry Says Israel Strikes Damascus Area

Smoke billows from buildings near Damas after an Israeli attack during the night of July 1, 2019. © Youssef Karwashan, AFP (archives)
Smoke billows from buildings near Damas after an Israeli attack during the night of July 1, 2019. © Youssef Karwashan, AFP (archives)

Israel carried out strikes Wednesday near Damascus, Syria's defense ministry said, the latest reported attack amid soaring regional tensions since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

"The Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of sites in the Damascus countryside," the ministry said in a statement.

"Our air defenses responded to the aggression's missiles and shot down most of them," it added.

An AFP correspondent in the Syrian capital heard explosions followed by the sirens of ambulances.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the Israeli strikes killed two Syrian pro-Hezbollah fighters and had targeted "sites where Iran-backed groups including Lebanon's Hezbollah are based" in two locations near Damascus.

When asked about the strikes, the Israeli army told AFP: "We do not comment on reports in the foreign media."

On Sunday, an Israeli strike on a truck in Syria near the Lebanese border killed two Hezbollah members, the Observatory had said, with a source close to Hezbollah later confirming the deaths.

Since Syria's civil war began in 2011, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes against its northern neighbour, primarily targeting pro-Iran forces, among them Lebanese Hamas ally Hezbollah and the Syrian army.

The strikes have multiplied during the almost five-month war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in Syria.



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.