Syria Reports Israeli Missile Attack Near Golan Heights

A general view of the mountains in the Golan Heights | Photo: AFP
A general view of the mountains in the Golan Heights | Photo: AFP
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Syria Reports Israeli Missile Attack Near Golan Heights

A general view of the mountains in the Golan Heights | Photo: AFP
A general view of the mountains in the Golan Heights | Photo: AFP

Israel fired several surface-to-surface missiles toward Syrian military positions in the country´s south early Wednesday causing material damage, state media reported.

State TV quoted an unnamed Syrian military official as saying that the missiles were fired from Syria´s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and struck areas around the nearby town of Quneitra.

It added that the attack that occurred shortly after midnight caused material damage but no casualties, according to The Associated Press.

The attack came nearly a week after Syrian state media reported a similar Israeli missile attack on an area south of the capital Damascus that also caused no casualties.

Israel did not comment on the attack. It has made hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over the past decade of its civil war, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militias, such as Lebanon´s Hezbollah that fights on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad´s forces.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the area. Most of the world does not recognize the annexation, though the Trump administration declared the territory to be part of Israel.



Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches, fearing sabotage, but things are normal," Nicola Yazgi told dpa, while attending a mass in eastern Damascus.

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is now leading Syria's interim government, were deployed outside churches and in the streets in Christian-majority neighborhoods in the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based war monitor, churches across Syria - including in the southern city of al-Sweida, and in the northern cities of Aleppo and Idlib - opened their doors for Christmas celebrations.

Yazgi said he was celebrating two things this year: "Christmas and the victory of the revolution and the fall of the tyrant. We hope that today will be the day of salvation from the era of al-Assad family injustices."

Suad al-Zein, an engineer, also joined the mass in Damascus. She expressed her joy despite the lack of decorations in the streets: "For us, joy is in our hearts."

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 following pro-democracy protests against al-Assad's regime.

In late November, HTS and other opposition groups launched a rapid offensive, making major territorial gains before capturing Damascus earlier this month. Al-Assad fled to Russia with his family.

Since then, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to reassure minorities in Syria, promising moderation and respect for all religious sects.

A group of people burnt a Christmas tree in Hama province on Monday evening, prompting hundreds of protesters to take to the streets in several cities.