DAMASCUS, Syria – The death toll in Wednesday’s series of Israeli airstrikes in Syria has risen to 92.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which described the attack as ‘the most violent ever’ by Israeli forces in Syria, had reported 79 dead after the bombing of neighbourhoods near Palmyra, an ancient city in the eastern part of the Levant in the heart of Syria, but subsequently adjusted the number to 82, then ninety-two.
The UN deputy special envoy to Syria, Najat Rochdi, told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that the raid was “likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date.”
The Israeli airstrikes attacked two positions in Al-Jamy’ah neighborhood, one of them is a weapons depot near the industrial area inhabited by families of Iranian-backed militias of Iraqi and other foreign nationalities, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
“The third attack was on a position where leaders from Iranian-backed militias in Palmyra and the Syrian desert and commanders from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement and a leader from Lebanese Hezbollah were holding a meeting,” the report said.
The monitoring agency said that families of Iranian-backed militias have been occupying houses in Palmyra for years.
Israeli fighter jets flew over Daraa countryside, reaching the airspace over Al-Tanf, before targeting Palmyra city, the report added.
“An increasing number of Syrians find themselves trapped in an unrelenting cycle of violence and suffering, forced to flee from places of refuge now under attack, both within their homeland and beyond its borders,” UN deputy special envoy to Syria, Rochdi, said in her briefing to the Security Council on Thursday. “As humanitarian aid diminishes and hostile rhetoric and actions intensify, Syrians are being driven into increasingly precarious and unsustainable conditions.”
“Clearly, the immediate priority for Syria is de-escalation. The country is being battered by the relentless storms of regional conflict and by the rising waves of conflict within its own borders. This year is well on track to be the most violent since 2020, and the potential for even greater devastation looms on the horizon. Decisive action by all with influence is needed to prevent Syria being further swept into a broader conflagration.”
“Once again Israeli airstrikes on Syria have increased significantly, both in frequency and scope,” the UN envoy said. “Just yesterday, we saw dozens killed in a strike near Palmyra, likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date. Israel says its strikes address targets linked to Iran, Hezbollah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But once again, we have seen civilian casualties, including from significant strikes that were conducted on residential areas in the heart of Damascus. Civilian infrastructure was also hit, including bridges, roads, civilian and formal and informal border crossings, in some instances for the third time, Rochdi told the Security Council.
“This has further hindered the passage of civilians fleeing violence in Lebanon, and also caused serious disruptions to essential imports and exports – now down by 40-50 percent. The prices of gasoline and basic goods have risen precipitously, leaving the most vulnerable in a precarious state. On the Golan as well, we are concerned about the volatile situation owing to continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.”
