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On December 20, a large blast rocked the southern outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, leading to speculations of a new Israeli attack.
A photo posted to social media showed a large column of dark smoke rising from the vicinity of Damascus International Airport. Syrian state media didn’t report the blast. It is still unclear if the airport, which has been out of service since it was hit by a series of Israeli strikes late in November, was targeted again.
Israel escalated its attacks on Syria significantly since the outbreak of the war with the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip.
Recent Israeli strikes on the country inflicted some human losses. On November 10, seven fighters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah were killed when an Israeli strike hit the outskirts of the central city of Homs.
Later on December 2, two officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in an Israeli attack on the town of Set Zaynab in southern Damascus.
Additionally, a Syrian pro-government commander and three Hezbollah fighters were killed on December 8 when an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle in al-Baath City in the southern governorate of al-Quneitra.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against Syria in recent years, often targeting Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed forces, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The war-torn country has largely refrained from responding to Israel’s repeated attacks in an attempt to avoid more escalation.
