From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 27 minutes ago, updated 7 minutes ago
An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft. JACK GUEZ / AFP
Israel’s “simultaneous” airstrikes are the first to hit Syria since the war with Hamas began.
Syria’s two main airports, that of the capital Damascus and that of Aleppo (north), are out of service following Israeli attacks that targeted them on Thursday, October 12, official Syrian media announced. The “simultaneous” airstrikes “damaged the runways of the two airports and rendered them inoperable,” a Syrian military source quoted by state media said.
The airstrikes are the first on Syria since the start of the war that has left thousands dead and was sparked by the Palestinian Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday. “Israeli aggression targeted Damascus and Aleppo airports,” state television said.
Hundreds of Israeli attacks since 2011
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory since the war in that country began in 2011. Its air force has particularly targeted forces backed by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, allies of Damascus and sworn enemies of Israel’s Syrian Army.
Damascus and Aleppo airports were attacked several times. The Aleppo one was taken out of service by strikes on August 28 and the Damascus one on January 2. Israel, Syria’s neighbor, rarely comments on attacks in Syria but says it wants to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its doorstep.
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