Hassan Nasrallah's Son-In-Law Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Damascus

People stand near the targeted building in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus (EPA)
People stand near the targeted building in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus (EPA)
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Hassan Nasrallah's Son-In-Law Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Damascus

People stand near the targeted building in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus (EPA)
People stand near the targeted building in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus (EPA)

Slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's son-in-law, Hassan Jafar Qassir, was killed in an Israeli raid which targeted an apartment in a residential building in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hassan is the brother of Muhammad Jafar Qassir, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut two days ago. According to the Observatory, Muhammad was responsible for the transfer of Hezbollah weapons from Syria to Lebanon.

On Wednesday, media reports said Hassan Jafar Qassir was killed in an Israeli strike that hit the first floor of a three-story building frequented by Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders in the Mezzeh district.

Three people were killed in the strike, including two non-Syrians. At least four unidentified people were injured.

The Mezzeh district is home to Syrian security and military headquarters, as well as embassies and UN agencies.

The targeted building is located about half a kilometer from the site of a raid that targeted last Tuesday two mini-buses, killing three civilians including a media worker, as well as three pro-Iran fighters, including a Hezbollah member, AFP reported.

Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes in the country, targeting army positions and Iran-allied fighters, including Hezbollah.

The strikes have increased in recent days, including on areas near the border with Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed into Syria over the past week, fleeing heavy Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
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Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.