Israeli air raids target Syria via Lebanon’s airspace

Damascus (QNN)- Israeli air raids targeted the capital city of Damascus and Homs regions in Syria on Thursday night, as the country’s air defences intercepted several Israeli missiles.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported, as it cited a Syrian military source, that the air raids came from the direction of Beirut, to the southeast.

“Our air defence tools have intercepted the missiles and downed most of them, and the aggression’s impact is being assessed now,” the source said.

Lebanon’s civilian aviation chief Fadi al-Hassan told Aljadeed TV that two flights heading towards Beirut were temporarily asked to change course because of the Israeli operation, but they eventually landed safely in the Lebanese capital.

The Israeli military declined comment on the reported strike in Syria.

The sound of aircraft could be heard in and around Beirut.

Lebanon’s defense minister Zeina Akar condemned the attack, saying that it “blatantly violated Lebanon’s airspace at low altitude, causing a state of panic among citizens.”

She said the attack violated U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 to resolve the 2006 Lebanon war and she called on the U.N. to deter Israel from carrying out airstrikes on Syria using Lebanese airspace. Akar said she had sent a complaint to the United Nations.

The Syrian statement said its air defenses “confronted the aggression’s missiles and shot down most of them, and the results of the aggression are now being audited.”