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| An airstrike near Damascus, Syria, Feb. 11, 2022 |
International Military - Russia strongly condemns Israel's bombardment of the Syrian capital, Damascus, with missile attacks on Friday. Yesterday's attack targeted Damascus International Airport. “We are compelled to reiterate that the ongoing Israeli bombing on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, which violates basic norms of international law, is completely unacceptable.
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We strongly condemn Israel's provocative attack on the most important object of Syria's civilian infrastructure," said Maria Zakharova, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Information and Press Department. "Such irresponsible actions create serious risks for international air traffic and put the lives of those who innocent is in real danger," he continued in a statement, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Saturday (11/6/2022).
"We demand the Israeli side to stop this heinous practice," he added. Syria suspended flights to and from Damascus International Airport on Friday, hours after Israeli air strikes hit the south of the Syrian capital.
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A Syrian military official quoted by Syria's state news agency SANA said Syrian air defense systems intercepted several Israeli missiles, downing most of them, but that morning's attack left one civilian injured and some material damage.
Cham Wings Airline, a private Syrian airline, said it was diverting all its flights to Aleppo International Airport. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that Israeli bombardment had damaged the runway after targeting what it described as an "Iranian militia warehouse" near the airport.
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An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment. For several years, Israel has been striking what it describes as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, have been deployed to aid President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday evening, air strikes allegedly launched by Israel targeted sites south of Damascus. The attack targeted a factory allegedly used to develop Iranian weapons in the city of Aqraba, south of Damascus.