Israeli Airstrike Injures Syrian Soldier in Damascus

It marked the second Israeli strike in Syria within a few days

A Syrian soldier was injured by an Israeli airstrike that targeted Damascus on Monday, the Syrian news agency SANA reported.

The strike was launched in the afternoon in a rare daytime attack as Israeli strikes are usually carried out at night. Syria’s Defense Ministry said that some missiles were intercepted by air defenses.

“The Israeli enemy carried out an airstrike with rockets from the north of occupied Palestine, targeting some points in the vicinity of Damascus. Our air defenses confronted the [Israeli] missiles and shot a number of them down,” the Defense Ministry said, according to The Cradle. “The aggression resulted in the injury of a soldier and the infliction of some material losses.”

Monday’s strike was the second Israeli attack on Syria in just a few days. On Friday, Israeli strikes were said to hit the suburbs of Damascus, with only material damage reported. Israel rarely acknowledges its attacks on Syria and hasn’t commented on either incident.

The Friday attack was the first reported Israeli strike on Syria in over one month, a rare lull in the Israeli bombing campaign on the country. Over the past few years, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria, which they frame as attacks on Iran.

But the Israeli operation often targets civilian infrastructure, including the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, which have both been hit in recent months. The UN said that Israeli airstrikes on the airport in Damascus halted aid deliveries for two weeks.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.