Iranian Militias Set up Rocket Launchpads West of Euphrates in Syria

Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Iranian Militias Set up Rocket Launchpads West of Euphrates in Syria

Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Pro-Iran militias in eastern Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Iran-backed militias have set up rocket launchpads in the Deir Ezzor region where the missiles have been directed towards areas under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the international coalition.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militias have established 13 launchpads equipped with surface-to-surface Iranian-made missiles in al-Mayadeen in eastern Deir Ezzor, while nine others were placed in a barn in the Hawi al-Mayadeen area.

All the launchpads are pointed towards the eastern Euphrates region. The nearest position to the platforms is the al-Omar oil field on the opposite bank of the river.

No confirmed information has been revealed about Iran’s purpose from the move, such as whether it was planning attacks.

On April 21, reliable sources in al-Mayadeen, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, informed the Observatory that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) transported Iranian-made missiles concealed in the al-Rahba citadel to areas under the control of Iranian militias in the eastern countryside of al-Raqqah.

The shipment was smuggled in trucks used for transporting vegetables and fruit.

Earlier, the war monitor reported that a drone attack killed a commander of of the Iran-backed militias and injured five militants in al-Sayyal town.

The non-Syrian commander died in the attack on his home, 11 kilometers northwest of Albukamal city.

On March 22, an unidentified drone targeted oil wells in the Albukamal desert in Deir Ezzor, near the Syria-Iraq border.

According to Observatory sources, the targeted wells were restored by Iran-backed militias after they were destroyed by ISIS during its control of the area.



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said an airstrike hit a hospital Sunday, killing at least seven people, while Israel said it had targeted militants at the no longer functioning facility.

"Seven martyrs and several injured people, including critical cases, have been recovered following the Israeli strike on the upper floor of Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza City," a civil defense agency statement said.

Israel's military said it had carried out a "precise strike" targeting members of Hamas's aerial defense unit operating from a "command and control center in a building that served in the past as the Al-Wafaa hospital".

The health ministry in Gaza said the hospital was still in use.

"The Al-Wafaa Hospital is partially operational, providing care to patients with physical disabilities," the ministry's director general, Munir al-Barsh, told AFP.

"The hospital had been rehabilitated and was getting ready to receive patients. Had it not been targeted by Israeli shelling today, it would have been ready to fully reopen in the next few days," he said.

The strike on Al-Wafaa Hospital came a day after the military ended a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, an assault the World Health Organization reported left the facility empty of patients and staff.

The military also detained the hospital's chief, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, saying he was suspected of being a Hamas militant.

Since October 6, Israel's operations in the Palestinian territory have focused on northern Gaza, where it says its land and air offensive aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

However, the military has also carried out airstrikes and shelling in other areas of Gaza as it presses on with its campaign against the militants.