Death Toll in Strike on Iranian Consulate in Damascus Rises to 16 

A satellite image shows the Iranian embassy and consulate following a suspected Israeli strike, in Damascus, Syria April 2, 2024 in this handout image. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows the Iranian embassy and consulate following a suspected Israeli strike, in Damascus, Syria April 2, 2024 in this handout image. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)
TT
20

Death Toll in Strike on Iranian Consulate in Damascus Rises to 16 

A satellite image shows the Iranian embassy and consulate following a suspected Israeli strike, in Damascus, Syria April 2, 2024 in this handout image. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows the Iranian embassy and consulate following a suspected Israeli strike, in Damascus, Syria April 2, 2024 in this handout image. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)

The death toll in the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus rose to 16, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday.

Director of the rights monitor told AFP that dead include eight Iranians, five Syrians and one member of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, as well as two civilians.

Iranian leaders on Wednesday renewed their promise to hit back after the strike that destroyed Iran's consulate in Syria.

Two elite Iranian generals were also killed.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday the attack “will not remain without answer.”

The US is concerned the deadly strike could trigger new attacks on American troops by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, said Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top US Air Force commander for the Middle East.

Iran and its allies — including Hezbollah and other armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen — have repeatedly traded fire with Israel and the US since the start of Israel's war in Gaza.

By attacking an Iranian diplomatic station, Israel's apparent escalation has raised fears that the devastating six-month war against Hamas could spill over into the entire Mideast region and beyond.

Israel faces growing isolation as international criticism mounts over its killing of six foreign aid workers this week who were helping deliver desperately needed food in Gaza. The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed nearly 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, the territory's Health Ministry says. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.



Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
TT
20

Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa

Ten people, including a young child, were injured in two Israeli airstrikes carried out on Sunday in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to a statement made by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, “nine civilians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Burj Rahal in the district of Tyre”.

Also, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zrariyeh in the Sidon district left a child critically wounded.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli military unit crossed into Lebanese territory after midnight, moving from the Khallat Wardeh border area toward the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. It has taken position there.

Despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel that aimed at ending over a year of conflict, Israel continues to target various parts of Lebanon particularly in the south often claiming they target Hezbollah fighters or positions associated with the group.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River - approximately 30 kilometers from the Israeli border - and dismantle its military infrastructure there. In exchange, the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) were to strengthen their presence in the region.

Israel, for its part, was required to withdraw from territories it occupied during the conflict. However, it has maintained control over five strategic highlands, which Lebanon continues to demand be vacated.