Syria says deadly Israeli strikes on Damascus and Hama a 'blatant violation'
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Syria on Thursday condemned Israeli strikes close to a defence research centre in Damascus and other sites, while a war monitor reported four casualties, after Israel said it struck "military capabilities."
"In a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on five locations across the country," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement on Telegram. "This unjustified escalation is a deliberate attempt to destabilise Syria and exacerbate the suffering of its people."
It said the strikes resulted in the "near-total destruction" of a military airport in central Syrian province Hama, injuring dozens of civilians and soldiers. Syrian state media said a strike had "targeted the vicinity of the scientific research building" in Damascus's northern Barzeh neighbourhood while areas in the vicinity of Hama were also hit, without providing details on the target.
The Israeli military said in a statement that forces "struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian bases of Hama and T4, along with additional remaining military infrastructure sites in the area of Damascus". Last month, Israel said it struck the T4 military base in central Homs province twice, targeting military capabilities at the site.
UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four people had been killed while others were injured - including "Syrian defence ministry personnel, in the strikes on Hama military airport".
The latest strikes on Syria come amid an expansion of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and days after it resumed strikes on Beirut.
Provincial authorities in south Syria's Deraa on Telegram late Wednesday said that several Israeli military vehicles entered an area in the province's west, reporting that "three (Israeli) artillery shells" targeted the area.
"At a time when Syria is striving to rebuild after 14 years of war, these repeated attacks form part of a clear Israeli strategy to normalise violence once again within the country," the foreign ministry statement added.
The new Syrian authorities have been seeking to rebuild the country and repair relations with other countries since the collapse of the former regime under Bashar Al Assad in December. Since his fall, Israel has carried out frequent strikes which it says is aimed at ensuring weapons do not fall in the hands of the new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham-led authorities whom it considers jihadists.
The Israeli military has also been sent to the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria.
Last month, during a visit to Jerusalem, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Israeli strikes on Syria were "unnecessary" and threatened to worsen the situation.
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