Israeli raids targeted airports in the Syrian capital Damascus and the city of Aleppo on Thursday, knocking them out of service, state media said.
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These airstrikes are the first on Syria since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, triggered by the attack on Saturday by the Palestinian Islamist movement against the Israeli state and which left thousands dead.
According to a Syrian military source cited by state media, “simultaneous” airstrikes were carried out by the “Israeli enemy” on airports in Syria’s capital and second city.
The strikes “damaged the tarmacs at both airports, putting them out of service.”
Flights were thus redirected to Latakia airport (west), according to the Syrian Ministry of Transport.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, calling it an attempt by Israel to “export its crisis.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also condemned the Israeli raids, judging that they constituted “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty” of the country and “the norms of international law”.
These raids took place as the head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, whose country is a major ally of Damascus, began a regional tour in Iraq on Thursday which will take him to Syria and Lebanon.
They come a few hours after a telephone call from Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Raïssi asked “Muslim and Arab countries” to “coordinate” to “stop the crimes” of Israel, while the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, has been under Israeli bombardment since Saturday which have caused more than 1,300 deaths according to local authorities.
Tuesday, for the first time since the start of the Palestinian movement’s offensive, the Israeli army announced that it had fired shells into Syria from the Golan Heights in response to “firing” of projectiles on this territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, confirmed the strike on Damascus airport, saying it was aimed at thwarting “weapons shipments from Iran.”
“These missiles, these drones are being used against Israel,” he said in an interview with German television channel Die Welt.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory since the start of the war there in 2011.
Its air force notably targeted forces supported by Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, allies of Damascus and sworn enemies of Israel, as well as the Syrian army.
The airports of Damascus and Aleppo have already been targeted several times. That of Aleppo was put out of service by strikes on August 28, and that of Damascus on January 2.
Israel, Syria’s neighbor, rarely comments on strikes in Syria, but says it wants to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its doorstep.