Reports from Syrian state media and other sources indicate that a suspected Israeli airstrike has struck a residential building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, resulting in the deaths of several individuals, including members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The attack, which took place in the Mazzeh neighborhood, home to several diplomatic missions, including the Lebanese and Iranian embassies, has raised tensions in the region. According to local sources, the target of the strike was an IRGC intelligence unit, and a senior IRGC intelligence official in Syria, along with his assistants, were reportedly in the building at the time of the attack.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based organization, has reported that the strike killed five people in a building where “Iran-aligned leaders” were meeting. Syrian state TV has described the incident as “Israeli aggression.”
Israel has a history of carrying out strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria, often targeting bases of Iran-allied groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. While Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, it has stated that it aims to counter the influence of Iran-backed militias in the region.
Today’s airstrike in Damascus follows a series of escalating tensions in the region, including the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza and attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. Additionally, last month, an Israeli attack on a suburb of Damascus resulted in the death of Iranian general Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria.
As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the involved parties will respond to these developments and whether they will further escalate tensions in the region.
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