“The heavy blows have started” Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz has posted to X above a video (below) showing a Syrian news presenter abruptly taking shelter after a massive explosion in central Damascus.
The rare daytime aerial attack by Israel in the heart of Damascus created panic in the streets, and quickly after huge columns of smoke lingered over the downtown area. There are casualties, with state news agency SANA quoting the Health Ministry as saying that at least three were killed and nine people wounded in the Israeli attacks.
Eyewitnesses say they saw Israeli warplanes circling above the capital city, and that there were at least three to four strikes. Syria has no air defense systems to speak of, after Bashar al-Assad’s December 8 ouster and subsequent heavy Israeli bombings of all remaining Syrian military equipment.
The large-scale attack, which could see more to follow, has been roundly condemned by Syria’s regional partners who are trying to prop up the new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham government under self-declared interim President Sharaa (Jolani).
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks as an attempt to “sabotage Syria’s efforts to ensure peace.” The Syrian people have a “historic opportunity to live in peace and integrate with the world,” the statement continued.
Hellbound and Down 