The war between Hamas and Israel dossierTwo high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed in an Israeli raid in Damascus on Saturday. IDF attacks in Syria have increased since October 7th.
The Israeli rocket exploded on Saturday in the heart of the Mazzeh district, one of the safest in Damascus and popular with regime leaders and their allies from Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. At least five of the latter were killed. And last but not least, high-ranking: among them were General Sadegh Omidzadeh, head of the Quds Force's intelligence service in Syria and responsible for external operations, and his deputy named Hajj Gholam, as well as three other Iranians introduced by Tehran as “military advisors”. The attack also killed seven pro-Iranian fighters, including four Syrians, two Lebanese and an Iraqi, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. According to the same source, a “meeting of pro-Iranian leaders” took place in the four-story building that was attacked by the Israeli Air Force.
Since 2013, there have been Israeli raids in Syria and Tehran and Hezbollah's open involvement in supporting dictator Bashar al-Assad. But their character has changed since October 7 and Hamas's bloody attack on Israel. It is no longer just about attacking Iranian weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah. It is no longer a matter of warning Russia, another ally of the Syrian regime, shortly before the attacks, as the Bloomberg agency noted. This is no longer a shadow war. “Who said we are not attacking Iran, we are attacking it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Tel Aviv on January 18. Iran is the head of the octopus and you can see its tentacles everywhere, Houthis [des rebelles yéménites] to Hezbollah and Hamas.”
“Fuel is poured into the powder magazine”
Israeli operations are now targeting senior Iranian officials without warning. On December 25, three rockets fired at the town of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern suburbs of Damascus targeted General Razi Moussavi, who is responsible for the logistics of the “Axis of Resistance,” which unites Iran-linked fighting organizations , and killed him Israel, allowing Tehran to act covertly without directly attacking. Damascus and Aleppo airports in the north have also been attacked several times since October 7th.
As after every major Israeli attack, Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi promised retaliation on Saturday, calling it a “cowardly attack.” According to Middle East Institute analyst Charles Lister, attacks on US military bases in Iraq and eastern Syria have increased to over 150 in the past three months. “An escalation in Syria is not a risk, it is already happening,” said the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, at the end of October. Fuel is added to the powder magazine that was already ready to explode.”
Early Saturday evening, the American base at Ain al-Assad in western Iraq was attacked by a pro-Iranian Shiite group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. As usual, this was not just rocket fire, but also ballistic missiles. The base's anti-aircraft defense, which fired 15 Patriot missiles, did not destroy all of them. At least three soldiers, an Iraqi and two Americans, were injured.