Explosions were heard in Damascus as the Syrian air defences responded to “hostile targets” even as Israeli airstrikes killed three civilians and wounded nine others, the country’s state media and defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Footage shared on social media showed flames engulfing parts of the upscale western Mazzeh Villas neighbourhood, where eyewitnesses reported seeing a passenger bus scorched on a road.
According to the Syrian Defence Ministry, the attack, launched at approximately 2.05 am local time involved Israeli fighter jets and drones striking multiple targets in the city from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the ministry said in a statement.
The attack comes amid heightened tension in the region, with Israel launching attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as part of its alleged “self-defence” strategy.
Powerful explosions were heard in the capital, particularly in the city’s west, with people awakened by the blasts.
State media said the air defences were intercepting an attack in the capital’s vicinity.
According to eyewitnesses and local media, explosions rocked the capital before daybreak on Tuesday in what appeared to be an Israeli aerial attack.
The explosions were heard across the capital just as news was emerging about Israeli forces beginning a ground incursion into southern Lebanon. The sounds were heard in the western Mazzeh neighbourhood, but the exact target was still unknown.
Syrian state TV also reported the death of a journalist, who was killed when shrapnel struck her home in the area. The state TV further reported the journalist killed in the attack has been later identified as Safaa Ahmad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack was an assassination attempt in Mazzeh area with the target still unknown.
