Syria repels Israeli attack on Damascus countryside

Syria’s air defenses repel another attack by the Israeli regime on the outskirts of the Arab country’s capital Damascus.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) carried the report, citing a “military source” as saying that the Israeli attack targeted the town of Zakieh, which is located to the south of the capital, early on Thursday.

According to the source, the attack saw the regime firing “surface-to surface missiles” from the direction of Syria’s Golan Heights, which have been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

The Syrian military confronted the offensive, destroying most of the incoming projectiles.

Earlier, Euronews reported that a number of explosions had rung out outside the Khan al-Shih town on Damascus’ southwestern countryside.

This is the Israeli regime’s second attack on Syrian soil in the space of a week. The regime had attacked some areas lying in the western Syrian province of Homs last Wednesday.

Syria and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s continued occupation of the Golan Heights.

The Israeli regime maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as one of its launchpads for attacks against Syrian soil.

The attacks started to grow significantly in scale and frequency after 2011, when Syria found itself in the grip of rampant foreign-backed terrorism.

Tel Aviv claims that its attacks target alleged supplies that are headed for the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah. On countless occasions, though, the strikes have targeted reinforcement belonging to Syria’s military and its allies.

Last Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry repeated Moscow’s call for the Israeli regime to stop its incessant attacks on the Syrian territory, underlining the geopolitical and security repercussions of the operations.

“Israel’s continuing strikes against targets inside Syria cause deep concern. They are a crude violation of Syria’s sovereignty,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The attacks “may trigger a sharp escalation of tensions,” she added.