Syria denounces Israeli attacks on Damascus, calls for urgent action against Tel Aviv

Syria’s official news agency SANA cited the country’s Foreign Ministry as making the call in a statement on Sunday, after Israeli missiles hit a number of residential buildings mostly in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood in central Damascus.

The Syrian air defenses reportedly intercepted most of the missiles, with al-Mayadeen news agency saying that the Israeli strike targeted also areas in Damascus countryside, including Tal al-Masih near the city of Shahba, north of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria.

The Israeli assault came just a day after Syrian state media outlets said as many as 53 people had been killed in an ambush carried out by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group near a central Syrian city.

“At a time when Syria was trying to heal its wounds, bury its martyrs, and receive condolences, sympathy and international humanitarian support in facing the devastating earthquake, the Israeli entity launched an air aggression today targeting the civilian-populated residential neighborhoods in Damascus, causing, in a primary toll, the martyrdom of five civilians and injury of 15 others and the destruction of a number of houses,” the statement said.

“The aggression comes in the context of the systematic Israeli attacks against the Syrian civilian targets, including homes, service centers, airports, and ports, intimidating the Syrians who are still suffering from the catastrophic effects left by the earthquake and working to support those affected by it,” it added.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry stressed that the hostile action also coincided with the attacks carried out by Daesh, which claimed the lives of dozens of innocent civilians in the eastern countryside of Homs Province.

“The continuation of these brutal attacks and crimes against the Palestinian and Syrian people constitutes an explicit threat to peace and security in the region and requires urgent international action to stop the Israeli aggressive actions on Syrian territory,” the statement said.

“Syria expects the United Nations Secretariat and Security Council to condemn Israeli aggression and crimes, take the necessary measures to deter them, hold them [Israelis] accountable, punish their perpetrators and ensure they do not recur.”

Israel frequently carries out missile attacks on targets in Syria, mostly using the airspace of Lebanon or the

occupied territories.

Syria has repeatedly complained to the UN over Israeli assaults, urging the Security Council to take action against Tel Aviv’s crimes. The calls have, however, fallen on deaf ears.

In early November 2022, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad emphasized that his country will definitely give a crushing response to such acts of aggression at some point in the future.

In a related development on Sunday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the Israeli aggression in Syria and called for confrontation with the “brutal fascist occupation.”

“We strongly condemn the Zionist aggression against Syria and its targeting of residential neighborhoods in the capital, Damascus, which led to a number of victims, including one martyr or one wounded,” Hamas said in a statement.

“We extend our deepest condolences to brotherly Syria and to the families of the martyrs, and we hope for a speedy recovery for the wounded, and we stress the importance of confronting this brutal fascist occupation, by unifying the ranks and uniting the Arab and Islamic efforts, because the Zionist occupation continues to pose a threat to our nation and peace and security throughout the region, with its presence on the land of Palestine,” it added.

Hamas also referred to the Israeli regime as “an absolute evil that can only be deterred by force and resistance until its demise from our land and sanctities.”

In a separate statement, the Islamic Jihad resistance movement also strongly condemned the Israeli aggression that targeted Damascus, which caused a number of civilian casualties as well as great damage and destruction.

“This aggression clearly proves the extent of the Zionists’ hatred and fascism, and their continuous efforts to target Syria and deepen the tragedy of the brotherly Syrian people, who are healing their wounds after the devastating earthquake,” the statement said.

The resistance movement also reaffirmed its solidarity with Syria in the face of the conspiracies led by the Zionist entity, which target the country’s sovereignty, security, and stability.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attack on Damascus and its environs, stressing that it is a flagrant violation of the rules of international law and has dire consequences for the region.

“We strongly condemn the Israeli military actions, which are a flagrant violation of international law, and we call on the Israeli side to stop armed provocations against Syria, which will have dire consequences for the entire Middle East region,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.

“The Israeli position in light of the humanitarian crisis that Syria has been suffering from for two weeks as a result of the earthquake is despicable and unacceptable,” Zakharova added, underlining that many countries of the world, including Russia, are extending a helping hand to Syria to overcome its great affliction by sending doctors, rescuers and humanitarian aid.