seven dead in Israeli strike in Damascus

At least seven people were killed on Sunday in an Israeli strike on an apartment belonging to members of Lebanese Hezbollah south of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.“An Israeli strike left seven dead and 14 injured, including women and children in Sayyeda Zeinab”an area which is home to an important Shiite sanctuary, defended by pro-Iranian groups, including Hezbollah, OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP.

“The Israeli attack targeted Hezbollah members in the building”declared the director of the Observatory, based in the United Kingdom but which has a vast network of sources in the country at war. According to him, the strike targeted two positions “where Hezbollah members live” near the municipality of Sayyeda Zeinab. For its part, the official Syrian press agency Sana reported a “Israeli aggression targeting a residential building in Sayyeda Zeinab” which caused victims, without further details.

Crossing points between Syria and Lebanon recently targeted

Four pro-Iranian Syrian fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday east of Aleppo in northern Syria, according to the OSDH. Since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on the neighboring country targeting the Syrian army and Tehran-backed groups, including Hezbollah, deployed in support of Syrian government forces.

The pace of these strikes has increased since Israel entered into open war against Hezbollah in Lebanon on September 23. Israel, which rarely comments on these strikes, recently targeted the crossing points between Syria and Lebanon, accusing the pro-Iranian movement of using them to transport weapons from Syria.