According to the Syrian Observatory, the attack targeted a four-story building in the Masseh district, which is home to UN buildings, embassies and restaurants, among other things. The district is therefore known as a high-security zone in which representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and pro-Iranian Palestinian organizations regularly stay.
Israel “certainly targeted high-ranking members” of these groups, said the Observatory’s director, Rami Abdel Rahman. According to him, a Syrian civilian was also killed. The UK-based organization sources its information from a network of sources in Syria. However, the information can hardly be verified independently.
The Syrian news agency Sana also reported an Israeli attack on a residential building in the Masseh district, but did not provide any further information. The Syrian Defense Ministry said several civilians were killed in the attack.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed in a statement the deaths of four of its members and blamed arch-enemy Israel for the attack.
“I heard the explosion clearly in the west of Masseh and saw a large cloud of smoke,” said a resident. “The sound resembled that of a rocket explosion and minutes later I heard the sound of ambulances.”
According to an AFP journalist, the completely destroyed building was cordoned off by security forces and civil defense searched for survivors in the rubble. Ambulances, firefighters and rescue teams from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were also on site.
The Israeli army has shelled the neighboring country hundreds of times from the air during the civil war in Syria, which has now lasted more than ten years. The attacks were particularly directed against Iranian-backed forces and positions of the Syrian army.
Since the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas began on October 7th, hostilities have increased again. Like the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Hamas is supported by Iran.
In December, an Israeli air strike in Syria killed senior Iranian general Rasi Mousavi. In the same month, at least 23 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in attacks in eastern Syria, also believed to have been carried out by the Israeli army, according to the Syrian Observatory.
In general, Israel hardly comments on individual attacks in Syria. However, the country repeatedly emphasizes that it will not allow its arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria. Tehran is allied with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
