WAR CRIME
Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus, kill 15 peopleIN UNPROVOKED ATTACK
At least 15 people have been killed, many others wounded and several residential buildings damaged in Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital Damascus.
ANF
DAMASCUS
Sunday, 19 Feb 2023, 09:23
An Israeli airstrike reportedly has killed up to 15 people in Kafr Sousa – a high-security area of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Part of the area is home to senior security officials, security branches and intelligence headquarters and Iranian installations.
The strike, earlier on Sunday morning, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square in the heart of the capital, where multi-storey security buildings are located within residential areas.
Syrian state media quoted Syria’s defence ministry saying that the strike killed, in a preliminary toll, five people, among them a soldier, and injured 15 civilians, some in critical condition. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural centre, had killed 15 people, including civilians.
At least 15 people have been killed, many others wounded and several residential buildings damaged in Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital Damascus.
ANF
DAMASCUS
Sunday, 19 Feb 2023, 09:23
An Israeli airstrike reportedly has killed up to 15 people in Kafr Sousa – a high-security area of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Part of the area is home to senior security officials, security branches and intelligence headquarters and Iranian installations.
The strike, earlier on Sunday morning, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square in the heart of the capital, where multi-storey security buildings are located within residential areas.
Syrian state media quoted Syria’s defence ministry saying that the strike killed, in a preliminary toll, five people, among them a soldier, and injured 15 civilians, some in critical condition. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural centre, had killed 15 people, including civilians.
More than a dozen killed in Israel's
'deadliest attack' on Syrian capital
Damascus
Issued on: 19/02/2023
An Israeli air strike on Syria's capital Damascus killed 15 people early Sunday and badly damaged a building in a district home to several state security agencies, a war monitoring group said.
Civilians, including two women, were among those killed in "the deadliest Israeli attack in the Syrian capital" since the start of the civil war, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The overnight strike cratered a road and wrecked the adjacent 10-storey building in the city's Kafr Sousa district, which is home to senior state officials and Syrian intelligence headquarters, said the Britain-based Observatory.
A woman was also killed in the capital's Mazraa district, possibly hit when Syrian anti-aircraft munitions crashed down from the night sky, said the Observatory.
It was not immediately clear who was the intended target of the strike, which AFP correspondents reported shook the city and left a gaping hole in the street, also blowing out windows of nearby buildings.
Other missiles overnight hit a warehouse used by pro-regime Iranian and Hezbollah fighters near Damascus, said the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.
Syria's defence ministry overnight confirmed the Kafr Sousa attack and gave an initial death toll of five, including one soldier, and 15 wounded civilians, some in critical condition.
Shortly after midnight "the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several areas in Damascus and its vicinity, including residential neighbourhoods", it said.
Syrian defence forces had "shot down several missiles", the ministry added in its statement.
Historic buildings near the medieval Damascus citadel were also "severely damaged", said the head of the Syrian antiquities department, Nazir Awad, who blamed "an Israeli missile".
An Israeli army spokesperson on Sunday said "Israel does not comment on reports in foreign media".
An Israeli air strike on Syria's capital Damascus killed 15 people early Sunday and badly damaged a building in a district home to several state security agencies, a war monitoring group said.
Civilians, including two women, were among those killed in "the deadliest Israeli attack in the Syrian capital" since the start of the civil war, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The overnight strike cratered a road and wrecked the adjacent 10-storey building in the city's Kafr Sousa district, which is home to senior state officials and Syrian intelligence headquarters, said the Britain-based Observatory.
A woman was also killed in the capital's Mazraa district, possibly hit when Syrian anti-aircraft munitions crashed down from the night sky, said the Observatory.
It was not immediately clear who was the intended target of the strike, which AFP correspondents reported shook the city and left a gaping hole in the street, also blowing out windows of nearby buildings.
Other missiles overnight hit a warehouse used by pro-regime Iranian and Hezbollah fighters near Damascus, said the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.
Syria's defence ministry overnight confirmed the Kafr Sousa attack and gave an initial death toll of five, including one soldier, and 15 wounded civilians, some in critical condition.
Shortly after midnight "the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several areas in Damascus and its vicinity, including residential neighbourhoods", it said.
Syrian defence forces had "shot down several missiles", the ministry added in its statement.
Historic buildings near the medieval Damascus citadel were also "severely damaged", said the head of the Syrian antiquities department, Nazir Awad, who blamed "an Israeli missile".
An Israeli army spokesperson on Sunday said "Israel does not comment on reports in foreign media".
More than decade of war
Israel, during more than a decade of war in Syria, has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, primarily targeting the country's army, Iranian forces and Hezbollah, allies of the Damascus regime.
Israel's military rarely comments on its operations in Syria, but regularly asserts that it will not let its arch enemy Iran extend its influence to Israel's borders.
"We will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and we will not allow it to entrench on our northern border," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting, but did not refer directly to the Damascus strike.
Late last year, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Directorate, Major General Oded Basiuk, presenting an operational outlook for 2023, said the army "will not accept Hezbollah 2.0 in Syria".
Israel, during more than a decade of war in Syria, has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, primarily targeting the country's army, Iranian forces and Hezbollah, allies of the Damascus regime.
Israel's military rarely comments on its operations in Syria, but regularly asserts that it will not let its arch enemy Iran extend its influence to Israel's borders.
"We will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and we will not allow it to entrench on our northern border," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting, but did not refer directly to the Damascus strike.
Late last year, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Directorate, Major General Oded Basiuk, presenting an operational outlook for 2023, said the army "will not accept Hezbollah 2.0 in Syria".
In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani on Sunday "strongly condemned the attacks of the Zionist regime against targets in Damascus and its suburbs, including against certain residential buildings".
The raids had left "a number of innocent Syrian citizens" dead and injured, he said.
The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, based in the Gaza Strip, also denounced the strikes.
The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful protests, and escalated to pull in multiple foreign powers and global jihadists.
Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.
The Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad receives military support from Russia as well as from Iran and Tehran-allied armed Shiite groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, which are declared enemies of Israel.
The latest attack comes more than a month after an Israeli missile strike hit Damascus International Airport, killing four people, including two soldiers.
The January 2 strike hit positions of Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and nearby, including a weapons warehouse, the Observatory said at the time.
The Damascus government is currently seeking to recover from the February 6 earthquake, which did not affect the capital but which killed more than 44,000 people across the country's north and southern Turkey.
(AFP)
The raids had left "a number of innocent Syrian citizens" dead and injured, he said.
The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, based in the Gaza Strip, also denounced the strikes.
The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful protests, and escalated to pull in multiple foreign powers and global jihadists.
Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.
The Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad receives military support from Russia as well as from Iran and Tehran-allied armed Shiite groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, which are declared enemies of Israel.
The latest attack comes more than a month after an Israeli missile strike hit Damascus International Airport, killing four people, including two soldiers.
The January 2 strike hit positions of Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and nearby, including a weapons warehouse, the Observatory said at the time.
The Damascus government is currently seeking to recover from the February 6 earthquake, which did not affect the capital but which killed more than 44,000 people across the country's north and southern Turkey.
(AFP)
Syrian state media reports deaths in Israeli missile strike
The overnight strike reportedly took place in a neighborhood in the Syrian capital, Damascus. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Syrian state media agency SANA reported Sunday that five people, including a soldier, were killed and 15 others wounded in what it alleged was an Israeli missile strike in Damascus.
The agency cited a military source as saying that the alleged attack took place shortly after midnight and that Israel "carried out air aggression with waves of missiles," which came from the direction of the Golan Heights.
A number of civilian houses were destroyed and Syrian "air defenses intercepted the missiles and downed most of them," the military source was quoted as saying.
There has been no immediate response from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which The Times of Israel reports is "in line with its policy of not generally commenting on air raids" in Syria.
The UK-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 15 people had been killed in strikes targeting sites in the Damascus neighborhood Kafr Sousa, which is linked to Iranian-backed militias and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by the US and several other countries, including Germany.
The militant groups have been providing substantial military support to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad to help his regime in its fight against opposition groups.
Israel has in the past carried out strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria, particularly ports and airports, in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran reaching militant groups backed by Tehran.
kb/nm (AP, AFP)
ZIONIST PARANOID JUSTIFICATION
Netanyahu: Israel actively thwarting ‘relentless’ Iranian attack plots
The Islamic Republic is not only attempting to attack Israel physically, but is also “trying to attack our national morale” and “undermine our unity as a people,” says the Israeli premier.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, Feb. 19, 2023.
(February 19, 2023 / JNS) Israel is ceaselessly confronting Iran’s nefarious activities, as the Islamic Republic’s attempts to attack the Jewish state are unending, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “On the Iranian front, our efforts are unceasing for the simple reason that Iran’s acts of aggression are unceasing. Last week, Iran again attacked an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and struck at the international freedom of navigation. Yesterday, Iran attacked an American base in Syria. Iran continues to send deadly weapons that attack masses of innocent civilians far from its borders.”
BBC Persian reported on Friday that an Israeli-linked oil tanker was targeted in the Persian Gulf by Iranian forces. The attack, which according to the report took place on February 10, targeted the Liberia-flagged Campo Square, whose owner is Zodiac Maritime, a shipping company led by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
Also on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the annual Munich Security Conference that Tehran was currently engaged in negotiations to sell dozens of countries advanced weapons ahead of the upcoming expiration of a U.N. arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.
“Iran is no longer a ‘local supplier’ serving proxies in the Middle East. It is a ‘multinational corporation,’ a global exporter of advanced weapons,” said Gallant. “From Belarus in Eastern Europe to Venezuela in South America—we have seen Iran delivering UAVs with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. In fact, Iran is currently holding discussions to sell advanced weapons … to no less than 50 different countries.”
Gallant called on world powers to take concrete steps to prevent the proliferation of Iranian arms once the U.N. arms embargo expires on Oct. 18 in accordance with the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which the United States withdrew in May 2018.
Netanyahu on Sunday further emphasized Jerusalem’s commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and entrenching itself militarily along Israel’s northern border.
“We are doing—and will do—everything to defend our people, and we are responding forcefully to the attacks against us,” he said.
Overnight Saturday, at least five people were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a target in Damascus, Syria. The strike targeted a building in the city’s Kafr Sousa neighborhood, and damaged several structures near a heavily guarded security complex linked to Iran.
The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the report, in accordance with Jerusalem’s long standing policy regarding specific foreign operations.
Tehran’s attacks on Israel went beyond the purely military, said Netanyahu on Sunday.
“I would like to stress something else: Iran is not only trying to attack us physically. It is trying to attack our national morale. It is trying to undermine our unity as a people,” said Netanyahu.
“I heard the remarks by Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon. I heard [Hassan] Nasrallah’s remarks when he spoke about the demonstrations against the government and said with satisfaction that a civil war in Israel is approaching,” said Netanyahu. “Therefore, I say to Nasrallah: Don’t count on a civil war. It will not happen. It will not happen because we are indeed brothers. It will not happen because what Nasrallah does not understand is that we are a living democracy. In a democracy, there are differences of opinion and debates. Sometimes there is agreement and when it is necessary, there are decisions. There will be no civil war because we always remember that we have fought shoulder-to-shoulder to defend our state and build our land,” he added.
Hezbollah chief Nasrallah on Thursday referred to the rift in Israeli society over the government’s planned judicial reforms, saying in a speech broadcast live on giant television screens in Beirut that the “foolish government in Israel is pushing for two major conflicts—an internal conflict within Israel and a conflict with the Palestinians that will expand to the region.
“We are hearing discourse from the entity’s president [Isaac Herzog] and former prime ministers [Yair] Lapid, [Naftali] Bennett, [Ehud] Olmert, [Ehud] Barak and former defense ministers and a general who talk about civil war and bloodshed and that there is no solution to the challenges posed by the new government,” the Lebanese terrorist leader said.
The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plan includes changing the way judges are selected so that the Knesset members will have majority say on the Judicial Selection Committee; passing an “override clause,” a law that would give legislators the power to reverse, or “override,” the Supreme Court when it strikes down laws; abolishing the legal justification of “reasonableness” by which the court can cancel Knesset decisions; and empowering ministers to hire and fire their own legal advisers.
Netanyahu has described as “baseless” claims by critics that the proposals would mark the end of the country’s democracy, and vowed to implement the plan responsibly.
“At this opportunity, I am pleased to disappoint our enemies and also reassure our friends: Israel is, and will remain, a strong, vibrant and independent democracy,” the prime minister reiterated on Sunday.
“It is precisely against the backdrop of the expectations of our enemies, expectations of destruction and bloodshed, that talk of blood in the streets must stop. The flames need to be lowered. The mood needs to be calmed,” said Netanyahu, adding: “This is the clear call that I am making from here and I expect all public leaders to say these clear words. This is what the Israeli public expects of us and it is the clear message that we need to send to our enemies.”
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