Israeli Strikes Target Syria for a Second Day in a Row

Global Conflicts

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By The New York Times

Published 7 months ago on

November 5, 2024

The wreckage left by Israeli airstrikes in Dahieh, a predominantly Shiite suburb of south Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, Nov. 5 2024. (Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times)

Israel targets Hezbollah’s weapons storage in Syria, aiming to disrupt arms flow from Iran through al-Qusayr.
Syrian monitors report seven explosions with no immediate casualties, following repeated Israeli strikes near the Lebanese border.
Netanyahu emphasizes cutting Hezbollah’s “oxygen line” from Iran, highlighting Israel's security efforts along the northern border.

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JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Tuesday said its air force had struck targets in Syria for the second day in a row, attacks it said were aimed at cutting off the flow of weapons and intelligence between Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese group, and its sponsor, Iran.

The announcement was the third time in a week that Israel made the rare admission of attacking inside Syria. The strike Tuesday targeted “weapons storage facilities used by Hezbollah’s munitions unit” in al-Qusayr in Syria, near the Lebanese border, according to a statement from the Israeli military.

The military has said that Hezbollah’s munitions unit recently expanded its activities into Syria, and accused the armed group of deliberately establishing weapons infrastructure within civilian areas.

Syria’s Warehouses Bombed

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors violence in Syria, on Tuesday reported that Israeli jets struck warehouses in and near al-Qusayr, an industrial city, and that about seven explosions were heard. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Last week, Israel said it had hit Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers in al-Qusayr “to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

On Monday, the Israeli air force said it had targeted a branch of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli strikes hit three farms that had previously been used as camps by members of Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned the attacks, calling on the United Nations to act swiftly to stop the Israeli incursions, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that regardless of whether a cease-fire deal could be reached with Hezbollah in Lebanon, there were several keys to achieving security along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, including “cutting Hezbollah’s oxygen line from Iran via Syria.”

The strikes in Syria comes as the Israeli military continues its fight in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military raided Palestinian villages in the northern part of the West Bank early Tuesday, setting off clashes with militants. Four Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

It was not clear whether the dead included militants or civilians.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Ephrat Livni and Adam Rasgon/Daniel Berehulak
c. 2024 The New York Times Company