Official Silence as Damascus Returns to Normal After Night of Air Clashes

Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
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Official Silence as Damascus Returns to Normal After Night of Air Clashes

Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)
Syrians on a bridge crossing the Barada River in Marjeh Square in central Damascus on the morning of the Iranian drone attack on Israel (AFP)

Syrians had a tough night with explosions rocking the skies, especially in Damascus and the south, as Iran attacked Israel. Syrians waited for an official statement about the blasts, which locals said were caused by “air defenses intercepting enemy missiles.”

A UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that the explosions weren’t just from intercepting unknown projectiles, possibly Israeli.

“Some rockets came from southwest of Damascus towards Hezbollah areas, not just from Lebanon,” said Rami Abdulrahman, the Observatory’s director.

“They weren’t acknowledged publicly to avoid embarrassment for Damascus,” added Abdulrahman, clarifying that Israel didn't attack inside Syria but engaged in air defense to counter the Iranian threat on Israel.

Late Saturday into Sunday, powerful explosions rocked Damascus and its outskirts, especially around the Sayyida Zainab area and Damascus International Airport.

Similar blasts were heard in Daraa, Suwayda, Quneitra (south), western rural Homs, and Jableh on the Syrian coast.

Unofficial Syrian media reported “aerial clashes in Syrian skies between Syrian air defenses and Israeli missiles.”

Pro-government daily “Al-Watan” aired videos titled: “Syrian air defenses stand firm against Israeli missiles.”

On the flip side, media reports suggest that the sounds heard in Syrian skies were caused by Israel intercepting Iranian drones.

The “Voice of the Capital” website clarified that there was “no Israeli attack on military sites in Damascus and its outskirts,” attributing the explosions to “Israeli defenses intercepting Iranian drones and missiles before they reached the Golan Heights.”

As of now, there’s been no official statement about the Iranian attack on Israel and the events in Syrian airspace. Syrian coverage mainly relied on Iranian media reports.

Sunday evening saw Syria’s Foreign Ministry releasing a statement expressing support for Iran.

The ministry affirmed Iran’s right to self-defense and condemned Israeli aggression on Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Life in Damascus appeared normal on Sunday morning after a night filled with the circulation of numerous images and videos purportedly showing Syrian air defenses intercepting Israeli missiles in the Syrian sky.

According to the “Voice of the Capital” website, air traffic resumed at Damascus International Airport after a brief halt due to the Iranian attack on Israel.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”