Israeli Raids Strike Iranian Militia Positions in Syria

Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria (File photo: Reuters)
Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria (File photo: Reuters)
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Israeli Raids Strike Iranian Militia Positions in Syria

Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria (File photo: Reuters)
Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria (File photo: Reuters)

Syrian air defenses confronted “hostile” missiles targeting the vicinity of Damascus, Syria’s state news agency said early on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: “Israeli air strikes targeted military positions of the regime forces used by Iranian militias, to develop weapons, in both the scientific research in the Barzeh and Jamraya areas in the countryside of the capital, Damascus.”

The German news agency (dpa) quoted residents living south of Damascus as saying that, "two big explosions rocked south and west of the capital. Syrian air defense forces confronted the missiles that were seen exploding in the air."

"Our air defenses confronted the aggressor's missiles and shot down most of them, and the losses were limited to material," a Syrian military source said in a statement.

Syrian TV showed scenes from the air defenses confronting the targets in the sky of Damascus.



Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
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Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.