Israeli aircraft allegedly struck the Mezzeh and Qudsaya districts of Damascus at around 3:20 pm Thursday, according to Syrian state media.
The Residential Building targeted in the Mezzeh District of Damascus was Totally Destroyed. pic.twitter.com/JkK1zyaK6q
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) November 14, 2024
The Syrian Ministry of Defense reported at least 15 dead and 16 more injured in the attacks on the two districts, as well as “significant material damage.”
Thursday’s strikes allegedly targeted assets and the headquarters of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, according to a report broadcast on Israel’s Galei Tzahal Army Radio.
İsrail savaş uçaklarının Şam’ın el Mezzeh bölgesinde vurduğu binada büyük yıkım meydana geldi. pic.twitter.com/QqfQheEhUU
— CVR (@cvr_intel) November 14, 2024
“The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization has been assisting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with the purpose of attacking Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces noted in a statement about an hour after the strikes. “The terrorist organization is an additional Iranian proxy acting under the direct instruction of Iran. Moreover, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization operates in Syria under the cover of the Syrian Regime.”
Two separate buildings were hit in what appeared to be attempted targeted assassinations.
The air strikes coincided with the arrival of Ali Larijani, a former general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who has served as national security adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for whom he now serves as envoy.
Ali Larijani also served as a former Iranian parliament speaker and secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, as well as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator. He is currently a senior advisor to the Supreme Leader and a member of Iran’s Expediency Council.
“Larijani will be at the head of an official delegation whose meetings will focus on the current situation in the region and Iranian-Syrian relations,” SANA reported.
The Iranian envoy was scheduled to meet Thursday with senior Syrian and Hezbollah officials before traveling to Beirut. It is likely the meetings were to be held in Mezzeh, where Iran’s embassy is located along with a major military air base and several Syrian government facilities.
The Damascus neighborhood has been attacked by Israel multiple times over the past years to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah by Iran.
Ali Hassan Gharib, who led Hezbollah’s elite 4400 unit and was responsible for arming the terrorist army’s forces in Lebanon, was eliminated a few days ago in a targeted assassination in Mezzeh.
Thursday’s strike was the second Israeli attack on Syrian territory in less than 24 hours: the previous attack targeted bridges and roads in the Homs countryside on the Syrian Lebanese border that have been used to transport Iranian weapons to Hezbollah.
