Israeli airstrike wounds eight in Damascus in move against Iran-backed forces
Eight Syrian soldiers were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, the Syrian Defense Ministry reported overnight from Thursday to Friday.
The Israeli strike, launched from the occupied Golan Heights towards "one of the sites in the vicinity of Damascus", caused material damage - the Syrian ministry said in a declaration.
what was Israel's objective?
The news agency Reuters reported that the aim of the Israeli strike was to target a Syrian security forces building. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an organization that monitors the situation in Syria with a widespread network of sources in the country, reports that Israel attacked a government building near Damascus. This specific building has been utilized by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah since 2014.
Israel typically does not comment on such matters but consistently emphasizes that it will not allow its greatest enemy, Iran, to expand its influence in Syria. Since the Syrian civil war started in 2011, Israeli forces have executed hundreds of strikes in the country, primarily targeting pro-Iranian factions.
It is evident that Israeli operations have escalated since the conflict began on October 7 between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel continues its strategy of pressuring Iran, and Syria, being an Iran ally, often becomes the backdrop for these operations.
