Israel continues its seemingly endless escalation of airstrikes against their neighbors today, hitting the Syrian capital city of Damascus with multiple strikes today. At least 20 people are reported killed and 21 wounded so far, with the toll not finalized.
The airstrikes targeted the Mazzeh neighborhood, which is home to embassies and government offices, and Qudsaya, which is closer to the city’s outskirts and primarily residential.
Israel commented that the strikes attacked an office belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Mazzeh. The initial report was 10 killed in the Mazzeh strikes, including at least three civilians. In Qudsaya, 10 were reported killed in a strike on an apartment building. It was further reported but not confirmed that among the Palestinians said to be staying in the building were several PIJ members.
Israel claimed the attack inflicted a “significant blow” to the PIJ and vowed further action against the organization. A PIJ member was anonymously quoted as confirming that among those killed were several of its members. It’s not clear what the operational impact will be.
PIJ is a much smaller than group than Hamas but has been involved in the fighting against Israel in the ongoing Gaza Strip war. Israel has repeatedly targeted the group with airstrikes, and today’s incident is just the latest example.
This is at least the ninth distinct Israeli airstrike against Syria this November. Though they’ve attacked Syria intermittently for decades, attacks are almost daily now, escalating in tandem with the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
