Israel reportedly fired a number of missiles targeting the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus early on Thursday, December 16. One Syrian soldier was reportedly killed. The attack also caused substantial material damage.
According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the attack took place around 1 am with missiles coming from the direction of Syrian Golan Heights which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Though the majority of missiles were intercepted by the Syrian air defense, the attack caused damage near the Damascus airport south of the city. However, the real target of the attack was not identified.
This was the 11th such attack inside Syria by Israel without any provocation in the past two months. The attack comes nearly a week after an Israel strike that targeted Latakia port. The attack had damaged several containers but did not cause any casualties. Latakia is the main Syrian port which is crucial for humanitarian and other supplies.
Israel has carried out hundreds of such attacks since the war broke out in the country in 2011. Scores of innocent Syrians and some soldiers have been killed in such attacks.
The apartheid regime murdered another young Syrian soldier last night. I'm sure he had a family & friends who are devastated. But western regimes & media will remain silent, because they support colonialism & racism. It's expected from those who support sanctioning civilians. https://t.co/vPKn90hRFx
— Seyed Mohammad Marandi (@s_m_marandi) December 16, 2021
Israel rarely acknowledges such attacks as a policy. On occasions when it does so, it tries to justify them as defensive measures against alleged threats from Hezbollah or the Iranian presence inside Syria.
Most of these attacks are carried out by violating the Lebanese air space against which Lebanon has filed several complaints in the UN security council. On other occasions, as in the attack on Thursday, Israel uses its illegal occupation of Syrian Golan Heights to launch the attacks.
The Syrian government alleges that Israeli attacks are a way of aiding the rebel forces and a part of its attempts to prolong the war in the country. Syria has also accused Israel of aiding the religious rebels it calls takfiris in other ways such as providing them medical aid and safe passage.
