A military source indicated that air defence systems in the country’s south have successfully repelled an Israeli air attack, preventing the attackers from achieving any of their objectives.
“Our air defence systems have repelled Israel’s air strike in a southern region. All missiles have been intercepted, none of them hit their targets,” a Syrian military source told Sputnik.
Earlier, Syrian television channel Ikhbariya reported that air defence batteries had shot down five missiles in the area of the Damascus International Airport.
On Sunday morning, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that an explosion had occurred on a highway in a Damascus suburb, with initial reports suggesting that it may have been a “terrorist act.” It remains unclear whether the two incidents are connected.
An Israeli military spokesperson approached by Reuters has declined to comment.
This was the second reported strike on the airport in a week. In a separate attack on the night of January 11-12, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at targets in the airport, with most of the incoming projectiles reportedly destroyed. The Syrian Ministry of Transport later reported that the attack targeted the airport, damaging several buildings, including an aircraft repair hangar, and hitting several parked planes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli jets had attacked targets in Syria, claiming that the strikes targeted “Iranian depots full of Iranian weapons” in and around Damascus’s airport.
Syria sent letters to the UN demanding immediate action to prevent new Israeli attacks, saying the strikes were an attempt to “prolong the crisis and the war against the terrorists in Syria,” and that they were only possible thanks to the “military, political and media cover” Tel Aviv enjoys from the United States.
Israel resumed air attacks against Syria on December 25 after nearly a three month hiatus. Israel halted operations after Syrian air defence systems responding to an Israeli attack accidentally shot down a Russian recon plane with 15 Russian servicemen on board, prompting Moscow to deploy S-300 air defence batteries in Syria. The Russian military condemned the Christmas Day attack, accusing the Israeli Air Force of brazenly threatening two passenger aircraft during the strike, which was launched from Lebanese airspace to shield IAF planes from an effective response.
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