(Damascus) Two people were killed and a soldier injured in an Israeli strike Wednesday on positions in southern Syria, the official Sana agency announced, citing a military source, with an NGO reporting three deaths.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), the strike targeted a service center of a foundation affiliated with Lebanese Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups, Jihad al Bina (fight for reconstruction), near Sayyeda Zeinab.
This town near Damascus, which is home to an important Shiite sanctuary, is defended by pro-Iranian militiamen, notably Hezbollah, which is strongly established in Syria alongside the Damascus army.
After the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, Jihad al Bina took charge of reconstruction, ahead of the Lebanese government.
Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes targeting President Bashar al-Assad’s army and the pro-Iranian groups that support him.
“At approximately 11:40 p.m. (5:40 p.m. Eastern Time), the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial assault from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of positions in the southern region […] killing two people and injuring a soldier,” Sana said.
The agency, which also reported material damage, added that the Syrian anti-aircraft defense had shot down some “aggression” missiles, without further details.
The OSDH, which had reported one death in an initial report, indicated that three people were killed, including an elderly woman, and 11 others injured.
On June 19, a Syrian officer was killed in an Israeli strike on two army positions in the same region, according to Sana.
Israeli strikes have increased since the bloody attack by Palestinian Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7 and the Israeli response in the Gaza Strip, which destabilized the region.
However, they have decreased in intensity since a strike attributed to Israel which targeted the 1er Iranian consular facilities in Damascus in April, notably killing senior Iranian officers.
Tehran responded on April 13 by carrying out an unprecedented air attack against Israel.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on the strikes but have repeatedly said they would not allow its archenemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.
Since October, Israel has exchanged daily fire with pro-Hamas Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanese border. These clashes have recently increased in intensity, raising fears of an extension of the conflict.