Israel Strikes Town South of Damascus

A firefighting vehicle is parked at a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7 , 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
A firefighting vehicle is parked at a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7 , 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Israel Strikes Town South of Damascus

A firefighting vehicle is parked at a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7 , 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
A firefighting vehicle is parked at a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7 , 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Israeli shelling struck a town south of Damascus on Wednesday evening, causing material damage, according to Syrian state media.

This is the second Israeli aerial strike on Syria this month, after Israel targeted anti-aircraft batteries on February 9 in response to a missile fired from Syria.

"The Israeli enemy carried out a strike with several surface-to-surface missiles" from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, targeting the town of Zakiya at around 11:35 pm (21:35 GMT), SANA said, citing a military source.

A war monitor said the target of Wednesday's shelling was a Syrian army post.

"The shelling targeted a regime military post," Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.



Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded in combat in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese group is open for ceasefire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.”

His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.