Syria Warns Israeli Aggression Pushing Region towards Instability

The Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry of Syria issued a warning to Israel and its supporters against their aggressive policies that are pushing the region towards a comprehensive escalation and instability.

The ministry stated that over the past four days, Israeli occupation forces have launched attacks on areas in and around Damascus, Homs and its countryside, causing the martyrdom of civilians and injuries to several others, besides causing material damage.

The ministry accused the Israeli regime of following in the footsteps of its sponsors in Washington and other Western capitals, exporting crises, and escaping from internal problems to external aggressions and crimes, in flagrant violation of international law and the provisions of the UN charter. The regime aims to perpetuate lawlessness instead of the force of law and human values, the statement said.

Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed a number of Syrian civilians as well as two Iranian military advisers, destroyed residential neighborhoods, and government properties and temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, as they also raised fears of regional escalation.

The escalation of attacks comes after Iran’s reconciliation with Saudi Arabia last month. It also comes against the backdrop of a major domestic crisis in occupied Palestine over prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years — but rarely acknowledges them. Since the beginning of 2023, Syrian officials have attributed 10 strikes on Syrian territory to Israel, including four airstrikes within five days as of Tuesday.

The increase in strikes on Syria began with a Jan. 2 attack that temporarily put the Damascus airport out of service, just after the most right-wing government in Israel took office.

Strikes attributed to Israel in Syria in recent weeks have also hit the airports of Damascus and Aleppo, a move which disrupted aid shipments after the deadly Feb. 6 earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.

On Feb. 19, the first reported Israeli strikes that targeted residential areas in Syria’s capital Damascus after the earthquake killed at least five people.