DAMASCUS: An Israeli attack targeted an industrial zone and some residential buildings in the town of Qusayr in Homs province in central Syria on Tuesday, Syrian state TV reported.
The outlet quoted the Homs province’s health director as saying there were no injuries as a result of the attack.
Israel’s military later issued a statement on the incident, saying it attacked ammunition depots used by Hezbollah’s weapons unit in Syria.
“Hezbollah’s munitions unit is responsible for the storage of weapons in Lebanon and has recently expanded its activities into Syria in the area of Qusayr. This is a further example of Hezbollah establishing logistical infrastructure to transfer weapons from Syria to Lebanon through smuggling routes,” the statement said.
A previous Israeli attack on Qusayr on Thursday wounded a number of civilians and caused material damage, state media reported.
Israel’s military said in reference to that attack that it had hit weapons storage facilities and command centers used by militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military also said on Monday that it struck Hezbollah intelligence assets near the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Israel says it has been carrying out strikes to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli attack targets town in Syria’s Homs province, state TV reports
https://arab.news/9896f
Israeli attack targets town in Syria’s Homs province, state TV reports
- Israel’s military issued a statement on the incident, saying it attacked ammunition depots used by Hezbollah’s weapons unit in Syria
Israel spied on US forces at Gaza aid base: Sources
- US commander summoned Israeli counterpart to say: ‘Recording has to stop here’
- Staff, visitors from other partner countries have also raised concerns about Israeli surveillance
LONDON: Israel conducted widespread surveillance of US forces involved in an aid mechanism for Gaza, The Guardian reported.
The Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel was launched in October as a joint body to monitor the ceasefire and oversee the entry of aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
But sources with knowledge of internal disputes told The Guardian that open and covert recordings of meetings at the CMCC had prompted disputes between the two partners.
Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, the US commander of the center, summoned his Israeli counterpart to explain that “recording has to stop here.”
Other countries, including the UK and UAE, are also involved in the CMCC. Staff and visitors from partner countries have likewise raised concerns about Israeli surveillance activities at the center.
When the CMCC began operations, media in the US and Israel reported that the latter was handing over authority to American forces.
Yet Israel still retains effective control over what enters the territory despite Washington’s considerable leverage, according to one US official.
US forces who arrived at the CMCC, including logistics experts, were keen to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.
But they soon discovered that Israel had implemented a wide range of controls on purported “dual-use” goods, creating a larger impediment than any engineering challenge relating to aid delivery. These included basic goods such as tent poles and chemicals used for water purification.
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel has said he was briefed at the center on “one of the dual-use barriers that was being lifted as a result of the conversations (there).”
It came in response to growing awareness that Israeli restrictions on deliveries stood as the biggest barrier to the entry of aid into Gaza.
Israeli authorities had also restricted basic items such as pencils and paper — required by Palestinian students for school — without explanation.
There is widespread hesitancy among aid organizations and diplomats over joining the CMCC’s efforts, despite being invited to do so.
The center lacks any Palestinian representation, and even US efforts to schedule video calls with Palestinian officials were vetoed by Israeli staff there.
