Syria: Israel Raids on Iranian Base Near Damascus

Missile fire is seen from Damascus (File photo: Reuters)
Missile fire is seen from Damascus (File photo: Reuters)
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Syria: Israel Raids on Iranian Base Near Damascus

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

Syrian air defense batteries on Friday intercepted projectiles coming from Israel and downed a number of them, state-owned news agency SANA reported.

"Our air defense systems intercepted luminous objects coming from the occupied territories (Israel) and downed several of them," SANA said quoting a military source.

Head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said three explosions shook southwest Damascus on Friday.

“They were Israeli strikes that targeted the Kiswah region where weapons warehouses belonging to Iran and (its Lebanese proxy) Hezbollah are located,” he told AFP.

In April, Syrian air defense intercepted an Israeli air strike targeting Mesyaf in central Hama province, wounding three combatants and destroying buildings, according to SANA.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

Israeli shelling recently targeted Aleppo, and in March, Syria announced its air defenses intercepted the Israeli aggression targeting the northeast of the city.

On January 21, Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes inside Syria, targeting Iranian facilities and Syrian aerial defense batteries, as well as a site near the Damascus International Airport. The strikes, according to the Observatory, killed 21 people, including members of the Iranian forces and affiliated fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed during his visit to Chad not to let Iran entrench itself militarily in the war-torn country.

In a detailed report, the Observatory said explosions were heard in the vicinity of Damascus, caused by several Israeli missiles where at least three violent explosions took place in the south and south-west of the capital. The flash of one of the explosions was seen in the west of Jaramana, and it was not known whether it was caused by interception by the air defenses to the missiles or the missiles reached their targets in areas in the vicinity of the capital.

SOHR noted that the Israeli airstrikes targeted Masyaf area in the western countryside of Hama on the 13th of April, killing several and injuring many others.

The Observatory documented the death of at least 14 Iranians and their loyal groups, 9 of which were Syrians and non-Syrians residing on the Syrian territory, while the other 5 include at least 3 Iranians.

They were all killed in the Israeli shelling that targeted the Accountant School in Masyaf city, and the mid-range missiles development center in al-Zawi village, and al-Talaee camp in Sheikh Ghadban village in Masyaf countryside.

The shelling injured more than 15 others, while the Observatory received information about the killing of Russian and North Korean experts in the Israeli bombardment.

On March 28, the Observatory learned that the explosions that rocked the area near Aleppo International Airport and Industrial City in Sheikh Najjar were caused by Israeli raids which targeted ammunition warehouses affiliated with the Iranian forces.

SOHR stated in a report that on March 19, violent explosions rocked the suburbs of Damascus, without information so far about the nature of the explosions. The violent sound coincided with firing missiles by the anti-aircraft defenses spread in the suburbs.

Earlier in March, an explosion rocked Hodr town in the northern sector of al-Quneitra countryside, caused by at least one rocket shell on an area at the western outskirts of the town, without information about causalities.

On February 11, the Observatory recorded an Israeli missile attack targeting Hezbollah and Iranian fighters in the areas of Jubata al-Khashab and al-Quneitra.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.