State media doesn’t confirm reports from opposition media outlets, which claim shipments were en route to Lebanon; there are no immediate reports of collateral damage or casualties
The IDF reportedly carried out airstrikes near Damascus after midnight on Sunday, targeting an Iranian weapons shipment that appeared to be making its way to Lebanon.
The airstrikes were reported by news sites affiliated with the Syrian opposition and were not confirmed by Syrian state media.
The strikes targeting sites belonging to the Syrian army and pro-Iranian militia groups took place in al-Dimas, just west of Damascus, the reports said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not clear the extent of the damage caused by the alleged Israeli strikes.
Footage posted on social media caught explosions heard throughout the area, but it was unclear whether they were caused by airstrikes hitting their targets or Syrian air defense projectiles.
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As a rule, the IDF generally does not comment on specific strikes in Syria, though it has admitted to conducting hundreds of sorties against Iran-backed groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country, over the last decade.
???? غارات لجيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي استهدفت عدة مواقع لميليشيات الإيرانية في محيط بلدة الديماس و بريف #دمشق الغربي pic.twitter.com/7kmf0pXsxW
— المرصد العسكري ⧨ (@Military_OSTX) September 30, 2023
The Israeli military says it attacks arms shipments believed to be bound for those groups, chief among them Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Additionally, airstrikes attributed to Israel have repeatedly targeted Syrian air defense systems.
Israel has repeatedly accused the Syrian military of actively assisting the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in the area.
Last week, two men were killed in an alleged Israeli drone strike in southern Syria, media outlets affiliated with Syria’s opposition reported.
The two men were reportedly riding on a motorcycle when they were struck by a missile.
They were named in unverified reports as Ali Okasha Abu Jarrah and Zaher as-Saadi Abu Alaa, and their affiliations were not known. Rumors on social media said they were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but sources in the terror group told the Lebanese al-Ahed newspaper there was no truth to this.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
