According to Syrian state media, the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike on the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but state news agency SANA said some damage was sustained at the airport. It was the second time Aleppo International Airport has been hit in recent weeks.
According to an official notice from the Syrian aviation authorities, known as NOTAM, the airport’s runway has been closed.
SANA, citing a military source, said the Israeli warplanes fired several missiles at the airport over the Mediterranean Sea, causing explosions to be heard in other regions.
There was no comment from the Israel Defense Forces, in line with their policy of not commenting on airstrikes in Syria in general. Israel is believed to have carried out hundreds of attacks on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
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However, Israel has acknowledged that it is attacking bases of Iran-aligned groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, which has dispatched thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. Israel views Iran’s expansion across Syria as a continuing threat to its national security and has launched attacks on a wide range of targets in an attempt to contain Iranian forces in the region.
#عاجل– المشاهد الأولى لـلقصف الإسرائيلي على محيط #مطار_حلب_الدولي pic.twitter.com/xCJX3sY84Q
— الأحداث الايرانية????????? (@M_B_H_N) March 22, 2023
Aleppo International was hit by airstrikes blamed on Israel earlier this month and forced to close its runway for several days.
Days later, Israel conducted a rare daylight raid against targets in northwestern Syria, injuring three soldiers and causing damage, state broadcaster SANA said.
Aleppo, largely destroyed in Syria’s civil war, was badly damaged in the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last month. A number of countries have since sent aid to the city’s airport, including Iran, an ally of Syria.
Iran and Syria described the airstrike on the airport earlier this month as a “crime against humanity”.
In January, the Syrian Army said the Israeli military fired rockets at Damascus International Airport, temporarily shutting it down and killing two soldiers. This attack came amid Israeli fears that Damascus airport was being used to smuggle Iranian weapons into the country.
Last August, Syria accused Israel of being behind two consecutive airstrikes on Aleppo International Airport and a site near Damascus Airport, as Israel allegedly stepped up efforts to attack airports to counter Tehran’s increasing use of commercial flights to carry military assets to transport the country.
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