“Israel carried out a rocket attack from northern Galilee targeting our air defenses in the Nabi Habeel area in the Damascus countryside. Our air defenses intercepted some of the rockets which resulted in the death of one person, injured three soldiers and caused material losses,” SANA said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported Israeli strikes targeted Syrian air defense headquarters and sites of Iranian militias in Damascaus’ countryside.
Syrian State TV, Al-Ikhbariyah, reported that the “Israeli missiles” could be seen in Lebanon’s airspace.
This comes days after Syria’s military reported confronting “Israeli aggression” after midnight on Thursday in the Masyaf area in the Hama countryside, adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and downed most of them.
Masyaf is a significant military area for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime that includes a military academy and a scientific research center. Israel has struck targets there several times in the past.
Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have often struck inside Syria from Lebanese territory. But the Christmas Eve flights were louder than usual, frightening residents of Beirut who have endured multiple crises in the past year, including the catastrophic August 4 explosion at the city’s port that killed over 200 people and destroyed parts of the capital. That explosion resulted from the detonation of a stockpile of ammonium nitrates that was improperly stored at the facility.
In the past few years, Israel has acknowledged carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria, most of them aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.
Source: Syria: One dead, 3 soldiers injured due to Israeli missiles fired at Damascus | Al Arabiya English
