DAMASCUS, Syria: United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen urged Israel Saturday to halt its attacks on Syria “at once”, after it carried out multiple air strikes on military installations in Damascus and other cities of the country.
Fresh Israeli raids were reported overnight, after Israel said repeatedly that its forces stood ready to protect the Druze minority after sectarian clashes killed 119 people, according to a Britain-based war monitor.
Since ousting former president Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria’s new authorities have vowed inclusive rule in the country.
“I strongly condemn Israel’s continued and escalating violations of Syria’s sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities,” Pedersen said in a post on X, calling “for these attacks to cease at once”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 strikes hit military targets across Syria late Friday, in the “heaviest” assault carried out by Israel on its neighbour this year.
Clear message to Syria
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported strikes near Damascus and in the country’s centre, west and south, saying one civilian was killed.
An Israeli military statement said its forces “struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria”. It did not give further details.
The barrage followed an Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz called a “clear message” to Syria’s new rulers.
ALSO READ: Turkiye, Israel Hold talks to Avoid Clashes in Syria
Iran condemned the strikes, accusing Israel of seeking to “destroy and annihilate the defence, economic and infrastructure capabilities of Syria as an independent country”.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said that the attacks were “a clear attempt to undermine” and weaken Syria.
Israel army ‘deployed’ in south
The Israeli military said it was “deployed in southern Syria” and “prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the area of Druze villages”.
Since the collapse of the Assad government late last year, Israeli troops have entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights and have carried out incursions deeper into southern Syria.
It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli army was speaking of a new deployment or how many troops were involved. – Agencies
