DAMASCUS: Israel on Thursday launched attacks at Syria’s two main airports in the capital Damascus and the city of Aleppo putting them out of service, Syrian state media reported.
Local media channel Sham FM reported that Syrian air defenses also retaliated against both the attacks.
State media quoting an unidentified military source said the simultaneous attacks damaged landing strips in the two airports, halting the flight operations.
Israel trying to divert world’s attention
The military source termed the strikes as a desperate attempt by Israel to divert world’s attention away from the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Iocal media also confirmed there had been damage but no human casualties at the Aleppo airport. It did not give any details on the impact of the attack on Damascus Airport.
Israel has been carrying out strikes in Syria causing grounding of flights at Aleppo and Damascus airports which are controlled by the government of Syria
Syria’s transport ministry on Thursday said technical teams were out to determine the extent of damage at both airports.
The recent attacks occurred a day before Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, was due to tour Syria.
The latest strikes came as Hamas and Israel continued exchanged of heavy fire for a sixth day. The recent conflict in Gaza has led to a significant loss of life, with more than 1,200 reported casualties due to Israel’s continuous campaign of air and artillery strikes, causing over 338,000 people to be displaced, according to the UN.
