Israeli missile attacks render the airport in Damascus inoperable
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Raven Ruma
- . January 2, 2023
- . Update: January 2, 2023 7:25 pm
Early on Monday, Israel launched missiles against the capital of Syria’s international airport, knocking it out of commission and killing two troops and injuring two more, according to the Syrian army.
It was the second time in seven months that an attack forced the closure of the Damascus International Airport, and it happened just after midnight on Sunday. The army claimed that it caused material damage in a nearby location without providing any other information.
According to Syria’s Ministry of Transport, repairs to the damage started right away. Later on Monday, some flights were resumed while repairs to other areas of the airport were still being made.
Israel appears to be trying to stop Iranian militant groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, from receiving weaponry shipments by targeting airports and ports in government-held areas of Syria.
An arms depot nearby the facility south of Damascus as well as the airport were reportedly hit by Israeli raids, according to an opposition war monitor. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is located in Britain, four individuals were killed in the attack. It was impossible to instantly reconcile the conflicting information.
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The runway utilised for commercial flights, according to the Observatory, has been fixed, but the cargo runway is still inoperable. The Observatory further stated that organisations supported by Iran also utilise that runway.
While the flight-tracking service Flightradar24 displayed an Iraqi private airline’s flight, Syrian state TV announced that the private Cham Wings restarted flying. Around nine in the morning, Fly Baghdad from the Iraqi city of Najaf was about to touch down in Damascus.
Infrastructure and runways were severely damaged by Israeli airstrikes that hit Damascus International Airport on June 10. After renovations, it reopened two weeks later.
The international airport of Aleppo, Syria’s main city and former commercial hub, was struck by Israeli airstrikes in September, rendering it inoperable for days.
Israeli aeroplanes fired missiles against the port of Latakia in the latter half of 2021, striking cargo and sparking a massive fire.
Israel has attacked government-controlled areas of Syria on hundreds of occasions in recent years, although it rarely admits or talks about these actions.
However, Israel has confirmed that it strikes the facilities of militant organisations with ties to Iran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has dispatched thousands of men to aid Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army.
The 11-year civil war in Syria has thousands of fighters who are supported by Iran, who have tipped the scales in Assad’s favour.
