Israel launched aerial attacks on Damascus, Syria by violating Lebanon’s airspace last night. Loud jets were heard and spotted over the country, terrifying residents.
The attacks are said to have “targeted some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus and the vicinity of the city of Homs,” as per a Syrian military source.
Syria’s air defenses were capable of intercepting the attack, confronting “the aggression’s missiles” and shooting down “most of them” as per the military statement. No casualties were reported.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the airstrikes were aimed at arms depots and military positions of Hezbollah, located between Damascus and Homs.
Defence Minister Zeina Akar denounced the attack as a “blatant violation of Lebanon’s airspace,” which Israel has continuously done without being held accountable.
The aircrafts were flying at an extremely low altitude, panicking residents who assumed the attack would be on Lebanon rather than Syria.
Akar accused Israel of breaching Security Council resolution 1701, calling on the UN to take action to prevent further violations.
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the UN must condemn the Israeli violations and take measures that protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“The enemy’s continuous violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty is a direct violation to UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” he said.
A Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight arriving from Abu Dhabi had to hold above Syrian airspace for ten minutes before finally landing in Beirut. A Pegasus airlines flight had to do the same.
A similar state of panic was caused amongst residents of Lebanon on December 24, 2020, when Israeli fighter jets once again flew at an extremely low altitude over Beirut, terrifying residents on Christmas eve.
Israel regularly violates Lebanese airspace in Southern Lebanon, where residents near the border are terrified of scuffles breaking out.