Officials in Damascus are blaming Israel, following another series of attacks that have killed dozens of people in Syrian territory since Friday.
According to data from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least eight people have already been killed and 23 injured in an explosion in the north of the country after a car detonated in a market in the city of Azaz. (OSDH).
On Friday, another attack near the city of Aleppo killed 52 people, an operation blamed on Israeli forces.
According to state news agency SANA, it was an Israeli offensive targeting the Iranian embassy building in the Mezzeh area of Damascus, razing the building to the ground and damaging neighboring buildings: “The Zionist regime is acting against international laws, so it will receive a strong response from us,” said Iranian Ambassador Hossein Akbari.
According to Akbari, the attack by Israeli F-35 fighter jets – the fifth strike against Syria in eight days – has already been confirmed by the Syrian Ministry of Defense, which it “condemned” and believed to be an Israeli attack. The ministry is talking about multiple deaths, without providing a figure for now.
“The Israeli enemy launched airstrikes targeting the Iranian embassy in Damascus from the occupied Golan Heights,” the Syrian Defense Ministry announced, killing several people and injuring several others.
“All those present were killed or injured,” the ministry said, adding: “We strongly condemn this heinous terrorist attack. [que matou] Many innocent people,” Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Meghdad said in a statement cited by SANA.
Among the dead was Mohammad Reza Sahedi, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Lebanese forces told Reuters. Iranian media initially reported the deaths of five members of the elite force, later updating the figure to seven, and Tehran vowed a response.
However, the state agency confirmed that Syrian anti-aircraft intercepted other strikes by Israeli forces targeting the Damascus region.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Tel Aviv has intensified airstrikes against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, against Israeli positions neighboring the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been intensifying attacks against Hamas allies in the region, and suspicious aircraft were spotted this Monday that are believed to be responsible for the bombing of the Iranian embassy compound. Despite continuing incursions into Syria, this afternoon's operation was an unprecedented move by Tel Aviv against a diplomatic compound.
Israel, which has not commented on these strikes against targets in Syria, again limited itself through a military spokesman to “We do not comment on reports in foreign media.”