Five Syrian soldiers killed in Israeli airstrike near Damascus, state media reports
Shafaq News/ Five Syrian soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a military site near the Syrian-Lebanese border, according to Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, on Friday.
The agency cited an unnamed military source stating that "around 1:35 am on Friday, the Israeli military launched a strike on one of the military positions in rural Damascus, resulting in the death of five soldiers and the injury of another."
The Israeli military has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Thursday, another strike targeted the Matrabah border crossing linking the al-Qusayr region of Homs to Lebanon. The Israeli military stated that the strike was aimed at "preventing the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah."
Syrian state television reported that eight people were injured in the attack, four of the injured were border-control policemen, while the other four were customs officers.
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that the airstrike was carried out by fighter jets and "targeted infrastructure used by Hezbollah for transferring weapons."
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, Damascus expressed full support to Hezbollah and opened its borders to people who fled the war.
President Bashar al-Assad directed the new government during its first meeting to focus on supporting “our Lebanese brothers in confronting the crimes of Zionism.”
"This should be your primary concern," President al-Assad instructed the Syrian government to prioritize support for the Lebanese people across all sectors without exceptions.
More than 20,000 displaced persons, both Syrian and Lebanese, have reportedly crossed into Syria, traveling to Homs, Damascus, Rural Damascus, and Tartous. Those numbers are expected to rise as Israel intensifies its aerial bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon, which, according to the health minister, has resulted in over 600 fatalities this week, with at least 25% of the casualties being women and children.
