Five people were killed on Saturday in an “Israeli attack” against a building in Damascus where a “meeting of Iran-aligned leaders” was taking place, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.
“An Israeli missile attack targeted a four-story building, killing five people (…) and destroying the entire building where leaders close to Iran were meeting,” said this UK-based NGO, but reported via a Large network of organizations has sources in war-torn Syria.
According to the OSDH, which did not immediately identify the victims, “the raid certainly targeted these leaders.”
In Damascus, the official Syrian press agency Sana confirmed an attack on a residential building in the Mazzé district and blamed Israel for it. However, she did not provide further details.
The Mazzé district is home to the UN headquarters and embassies.
According to residents and images shared by pro-government media, a thick cloud of smoke emerged from the target building.
“I heard an explosion and saw a big cloud of smoke,” one of the residents told AFP.
“The noise was like a rocket explosion, and a few minutes later I heard the ambulance siren,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Since the war in Syria began in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on neighboring Syrian territory, mostly targeting forces backed by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, allies of the Syrian regime and sworn enemies of the Syrian army .
The Israeli army has intensified these attacks since the war against the Palestinian Hamas began on October 7.
Israel, which rarely claims its operations in Syria, has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence there, including through militias or armed groups such as Hezbollah.