20 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli warplanes bombed targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital, Damascus, last night, killing two soldiers, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has reported.
At least four missiles were fired from the Israeli aircraft, targeting the area around Damascus International Airport. According to Sana, one of the targets of the attack was an air defence battery that was deployed recently near the airport.
The attack follows Israeli air strikes on the Shayrat Airbase in Homs province last month that killed two soldiers and injured three others. A warehouse for Iranian militias and Hezbollah was also destroyed, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Last year, Lebanon filed an official complaint to the UN about Israel's use of Lebanese air space during its strikes against Syria. Using Lebanese air space, said Israel's northern neighbour, poses a "direct threat" to civilian air traffic.
Throughout the ongoing Syrian conflict and Iran's intervention in support of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, Israel has conducted strikes on Syrian territory with the aim of stopping the transfer of Iranian arms and ending the presence of Iranian military sites in the country. Such strikes have escalated over the past year, with Israel saying that it will continue to attack as long as it detects Iranian arms being transported in Syria.
