On 22 January, numerous missiles were launched by Israeli warplanes into Hama, Syria, a city in west-central Syria. The Britain-based watchdog, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, states that the strike was launched from Lebanese airspace. The Syrian state news agency (SANA) reports that Syrian air defense units downed most of the missiles, citing a military official.
The strikes, carried out by the Israeli Army, killed a family of four; two children, a mother, and father. Four other civilians were injured as well, two of which were children, and three houses were demolished. SANA reports that the deceased family had been displaced by Syria’s nearly decade-long war. The missiles targeted five military posts where Iran-backed fighters were present, and it is believed that one of the missiles landed on a residential area, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. The strike also destroyed five Syrian military sites in Hama, an area where many Iran-backed fighters are located. Israel frequently conducts these strikes with the intention of eliminating Iran-backed militias, but hardly ever publicly discusses such actions. While it has admitted to striking approximately 50 targets in Syria in 2020, other sources estimate that the number is much higher than that, and hundreds of strikes have been carried out over previous years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on the strike. While Syrian air defense units intercepted most of the missiles, as claimed by military officials, it appears that Syria is not taking any further countermeasures at this time.
To know more, please read:
www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/22/israels-warplanes-strike-targets-in-syrias-hama-province
www.apnews.com/article/joe-biden-israel-iran-middle-east-lebanon-02f9551afe3dd54a1d512c2166690c0e
www.dw.com/en/family-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-against-syria/a-56311220
Author: Sitara Sandhu; Editor: Gabriella Pavlakis
