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Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Syria, reports

March 29, 2024

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 42 people were killed and dozens wounded" by an Israeli air raid in Aleppo targeting an area near Hezbollah rockets storage facilities.

https://p.dw.com/p/4eF3Y
Aleppo International Airport
The Israeli air raid targeted an area close to Aleppo's international airportImage: Planet Labs PBC/picture alliance

Reported Israeli airstrikes on Syria's Aleppo killed 42 people, including members of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, sources said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said "forty-two killed, including six from Lebanon's Hezbollah group" in the Israeli air raid targeting an area near Hezbollah's rockets storage facilities. According to the group, the dead included 36 Syrian troops. Dozens of people were also injured, the group said.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes in Syria.

The area struck was Aleppo's suburb of Jibreen in the south, near the Aleppo International Airport, at about 1:45 a.m. local time (2245 GMT Thursday).

Earlier, the Syrian Defense Ministry said the airstrikes and militant attacks around Aleppo resulted in the death of civilians and military personnel.

The ministry reported that the Israeli airstrikes coincided with drone attacks launched from Idlib and western rural Aleppo by "terrorist organizations."

The ministry did not provide details on the number of casualties or specify whether the deaths resulted from the Israeli airstrikes or the militant groups' attacks.

Escalating border conflict

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah have regularly traded fire across the border.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

On Wednesday, strikes by Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters killed people on both sides of the border raising fear of a wider conflict.

Lebanese state media reported that Israeli fighter jets struck a medical center. Israel's military said it hit a military facility, killing only militants.

Israel has also struck what it said are bases of Iranian-backed militia in Syria, while also targeting Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.

ss/jsi (Reuters, AFP, AP)