Israeli Airstrike Kills 4 in Central Syria

Damaged buildings are shown after what Syrian authorities said was an Israeli airstrike in the western suburbs of Damascus, Syria in this handout released by state news agency SANA on April 27, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Damaged buildings are shown after what Syrian authorities said was an Israeli airstrike in the western suburbs of Damascus, Syria in this handout released by state news agency SANA on April 27, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Israeli Airstrike Kills 4 in Central Syria

Damaged buildings are shown after what Syrian authorities said was an Israeli airstrike in the western suburbs of Damascus, Syria in this handout released by state news agency SANA on April 27, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Damaged buildings are shown after what Syrian authorities said was an Israeli airstrike in the western suburbs of Damascus, Syria in this handout released by state news agency SANA on April 27, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

An Israeli airstrike in central Syria killed one Syrian soldier and three pro-Iranian fighters on Wednesday, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Syrian state news agency SANA had earlier quoted a military source as saying that the attack close to the historic Syrian town of Palmyra in Homs province had killed a soldier and wounded three others.

"At around 23:34 (2034 GMT) the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression... on the area of Palmyra targeting a communication tower and several positions in its vicinity," the source told SANA.

The Observatory said the attack targeted several Iranian positions, among them the communication tower, near the T4 airbase east of Palmyra.

It reported that the attack killed one Syrian soldier and three pro-Iranian fighters, but their nationality was not immediately clear.

Seven others, among them three Syrian soldiers, were wounded.

Last week, an Israeli missile strike on the same airbase killed two pro-Iranian foreign fighters, the Observatory reported.

SANA said six soldiers were wounded in that attack.

Israel has staged hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.



Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Israel Says it Attacked Hezbollah's Intelligence HQ in Beirut

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, as seen from Hadath, Lebanon October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Israel carried out at least three air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after issuing evacuation orders.

Israel said its air force attacked Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground workshop for the production of weapons in Beirut.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its fighter jets killed three Hezbollah commanders, including Alhaj Abbas Salameh, a senior figure in the group's southern command, Radja Abbas Awache, a communications expert, and Ahmad Ali Hussein, who it said was responsible for strategic weapons development.
It was not clear if the three were killed in the attack on the headquarters or in separate actions.

A day earlier, Israel carried out heavy strikes on several locations in Beirut's southern suburbs, leaving thick plumes of smoke hanging over the city into the evening.

The strikes targeted "a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command center,” Israel's military said.

Israel had issued evacuation orders for four separate neighborhoods within the suburbs, urging residents to get 500 meters away, but carried out strikes in other areas as well, witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the southern suburbs - once a densely populated zone that also housed Hezbollah offices and underground installations - since Israel began regular strikes there about three weeks ago.

An Israeli air attack on Sept. 27 killed Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, and strikes nearby have killed other top figures from the Iran-backed group.