Syria has suspended all flights — departures and arrivals — at Damascus International Airport following an alleged Israeli air strike.
Syria Reports Israeli Attack on South Damascus
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, three Iranian-linked arms depots were struck in the attack.
The war monitor reported the northern runway at the airport was damaged, along with the observation tower and navigational lighting systems, as well as unused passenger halls at the airport that had been repurposed for secret arrivals by senior military officials from Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, although photos posted by the group on Twitter could not be independently verified.
“#SOHR camera” from inside Damascus international airport captures damage to the old arrival halls due to the recent Israeli attacks. These halls have been used for welcoming senior commanders of IRGC and Lebanese Hezbollah secretly and temporarily storing Iranian weapons pic.twitter.com/tke1cbfTsc
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) June 11, 2022
The country’s official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that its Transportation Ministry has confirmed all flights were suspended because “some technical equipment stopped functioning at the airport.”
The Syrian government blamed Israel for the strikes, saying one person was wounded and “material damage” was caused.
““At 4.20 am today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression with rockets from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points south of the city of Damascus,” SANA reported Friday. “Our air defenses confronted the aggression’s missiles and shot down most of them.”
Satellite imagery showing significant damage to the airport’s runways was published Friday night by ImageSat International (ISI).
New imagery of #Damascus international Airport shows extensive damage to both military & civilian runways from this morning's strikes.This comes after Syria’s Ministry of Transport halted flights to and from the airport. pic.twitter.com/ng5Ui6vyEn
— ImageSat Intl. (@ImageSatIntl) June 10, 2022
The attack prevented Syrian and Iranian transport aircraft from using the airport for the transport and delivery of weapons and ammunition, military journalist Babak Taghvaee pointed out in a tweet.
“The Ministry of Transport announced that incoming and outgoing flights through Damascus International Airport have been suspended as a result of some technical equipment at the airport being out of service,” SANA reported later in the day on Friday.
“The … dates for operating flights through Damascus International Airport will be announced as soon as the equipment is repaired and the safety and operational movement of the airport is ensured, in coordination with the air carriers,” the news agency added.
The air strike was condemned Friday by the Russian government, which blamed Israel for the attack.
“Russia strongly condemns this Israeli aggression, and demands the Israeli entity stop these vicious practices,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement posted on the ministry website.
“Russia reiterates that the consistent Israeli aggression on the Syrian Arab Republic’s territories is a violation of the basic rules of the international law,” she said, calling the air strikes “unacceptable and provocative.
“Such irresponsible actions pose grave threats to international air transport and put innocents souls at risk,” Zakharova added.
