Israel launched a strike against targets in Syria near the Damascus airport Thursday, targeting an arms supply depot.
Reuters is reporting that the arms supply hub was being operated by the Lebanese terrorist-linked group Hezbollah near the airport. Israel’s air strike Thursday targeted the weapons, that were being sent from Iran via commercial and military cargo planes.
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Video on Arab TV and shared on social media showed the early-morning strike that caused a fire around the airport, which is just east of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The fire suggests that fuel sources or weapons and explosives were hit.
Damascus airport rocked after 'Israel air strike' on arms depot https://t.co/SeNIdFnDDn pic.twitter.com/6uUNb94mtK
— Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) April 27, 2017
#BREAKING: #Israel-i warplanes strike positions of Syrian army at Damascus airport Thursday morning. #Syria pic.twitter.com/nCy3yZgTTL
— Baxtiyar Goran (@BaxtiyarGoran) April 27, 2017
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Syrian state television said that Israeli missiles hit a military position southwest of the airport, but didn’t mention arms or fuel. It said that “Israeli aggression” caused the explosion, but didn’t expand further.
In a sign of the heightened tensions surrounding a conflict that has already caught up regional and international powers, Damascus’ ally Russia criticized the Israeli strike and said Syrian sovereignty should be respected.
Israel does not usually comment on action it takes in Syria. But Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking to Army Radio from the United States, appeared to confirm involvement.
“The incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel’s policy to act to prevent Iran’s smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicates an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act”, he added.
