Israeli Airstrike Near Damascus Kills Three, Injures Eleven

An Israeli airstrike near the southern outskirts of Damascus resulted in the deaths of at least three people and left eleven others wounded, according to reports from a war monitor on Thursday.

The strike caused shrapnel to fall on houses following the launch of a Syrian air defense missile aimed at countering the attack late Wednesday night.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through a network of sources, indicated that the airstrike targeted the Jihad al-Bina Foundation.

This foundation is linked to Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia, and Iranian groups. The targeted site was approximately 700 meters away from the Sayyida Zainab shrine, a significant Shiite religious site frequently visited by Iranians and Hezbollah loyalists.

The observatory also reported explosions at the Tal Sahn radar site, located east of the town of Malah in Suwayda’s eastern countryside. It remains unclear whether these explosions resulted from Israeli targeting or from Syrian rockets launched in response to Israeli missiles.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the incident. Israel’s air force has conducted multiple airstrikes in Syria, aiming to counter the military influence expansion efforts of Iran and its allied militias in the region.

The frequency of such attacks has increased since the onset of the Gaza war on October 7.