Israeli Attack on Syria’s Palmyra Kills 36 People, Syrian State Media Says

Syrian civil defense officers stand at a damaged site after what the Syrian state news agency said was an Israeli strike in the Damascus suburb of Mazzeh, Syria November 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Syrian civil defense officers stand at a damaged site after what the Syrian state news agency said was an Israeli strike in the Damascus suburb of Mazzeh, Syria November 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Attack on Syria’s Palmyra Kills 36 People, Syrian State Media Says

Syrian civil defense officers stand at a damaged site after what the Syrian state news agency said was an Israeli strike in the Damascus suburb of Mazzeh, Syria November 14, 2024. (Reuters)
Syrian civil defense officers stand at a damaged site after what the Syrian state news agency said was an Israeli strike in the Damascus suburb of Mazzeh, Syria November 14, 2024. (Reuters)

An Israeli attack on Syria's historic city of Palmyra killed 36 people and wounded more than 50 on Wednesday after it hit residential buildings and an industrial zone, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

The Israeli military declined to comment when asked about the attack.

"At approximately 1:30 p.m. today, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the al-Tanf area, targeting a number of buildings in the city of Palmyra in the Syrian desert, which led to the martyrdom of 36 people (and) the injury of more than 50 others," SANA said, quoting a military official.

It added that the attack also caused significant damage to the targeted buildings and surrounding area.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

The Israeli military said last week it had attacked transit routes on the Syrian-Lebanese border that were used to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.

Syrian state media reported several Israeli attacks last week in the vicinity of Homs province, which borders Lebanon. Palmyra is located in Homs.

Palmyra's ancient city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was seized by ISIS militants in 2015 and partially destroyed before it was recaptured by the Syrian army.



Israeli Bill Targets Families of Minors Convicted of Security Offenses

Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
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Israeli Bill Targets Families of Minors Convicted of Security Offenses

Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)

The Israeli parliament has passed a bill stripping some insurance benefits from families of minors convicted of security offenses.

A rights group denounced the legislation as a form of collective punishment of Palestinians.

The bill, which passed 29-8 late Monday, bans direct family members of minors convicted of security offenses from receiving a child allowance, study grants, or other welfare benefits under Israel’s National Insurance program while the minor is imprisoned.

It was passed to “cause parents to supervise their children and make sure that they do not engage in terrorist activity,” according to a press release on the website of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Legal group Adalah, which called on Israel’s attorney general to withdraw the law, said the true aim of the legislation was “to impose punitive measures under the pretext of counterterrorism by denying welfare benefits.”

Adalah said that because the legislation only applies to those convicted of security offenses, who are overwhelmingly Palestinian, it “creates a distinction on the basis of nationality.”

It’s the latest in a series of measures passed by the Knesset that have been denounced by rights groups as draconian.

A law passed earlier this month would allow Israel to deport family members of Palestinian attackers to Gaza or other locations. In late October, the Knesset passed two laws banning UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating on Israeli soil.