JERUSALEM: Israeli forces conducted an airborne raid on a site near the Syrian capital after bombing it several times, Syrian state media reported.
Israel has not confirmed the raid, but Defence Minister Israel Katz said its forces operate "in all combat zones" to ensure the country's security.
If verified, it would be the deepest such operation Israel has carried out inside Syria since an Islamist alliance seized power in Damascus in December.
Israeli jets struck the site near Kisweh, outside Damascus on Tuesday, killing six Syrian soldiers according to the foreign ministry, and bombed it again on Wednesday according to state television.
Quoting a government source, state news agency SANA said soldiers had found "surveillance and eavesdropping devices" in the area before it was hit by Israeli strikes on Tuesday.
A defence ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the target was a former Syrian military base in Tal Maneh, near Kisweh.
Following the second attack on Wednesday, SANA said Israeli troops were flown into the area to carry out a raid, "the details of which are not yet known, amid continued intensive reconnaissance flights".
On Thursday in a post on X, the Israeli defence minister said: "Our forces are operating in all combat zones day and night for the security of Israel". He did not elaborate.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military declined to comment.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since then, and occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarised zone on the Syrian-held side of the armistice line between the two countries.
It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus.
Israeli forces raid site near Syria capital: state media
https://arab.news/z4c44
Israeli forces raid site near Syria capital: state media
- Syrian state media reported a raid by Israeli ground troops on a site it had already bombed outside Damascus
UN, aid groups warn Gaza operations at risk from Israel impediments
- Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, were at risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
“The deregistration of INGOs (international aid groups) in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” the statement read.
“INGOs run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilization centers for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities,” it said.
SUPPLIES LEFT OUT OF REACH: GROUPS
While some international aid groups have been registered under the system that was introduced in March, “the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary hindrances to humanitarian operations have left millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies — including food, medical items, hygiene materials, and shelter assistance — stuck outside of Gaza and unable to reach people in need,” the statement read.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement. Under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas began on October 10. Hamas released hostages, Israel freed detained Palestinians and more aid began flowing into the enclave where a global hunger monitor said in August famine had taken hold.
However, Hamas says fewer aid trucks are entering Gaza than was agreed. Aid agencies say there is far less aid than required, and that Israel is blocking many necessary items from coming in. Israel denies that and says it is abiding by its obligations under the truce.
“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of INGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles,” the statement by the UN and aid groups said.
The statement stressed “humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political,” adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”
