BREAKING NEWS

Israeli strike on Damascus airport in June halted aid for nearly two weeks - UN

An Israeli strike that damaged the Damascus International Airport in June made it impossible for the United Nations to fly in aid deliveries to needy Syrians for around two weeks, the UN's Syria commission said on Wednesday.

Commissioner Lynn Welchmann told reporters in Geneva that the Israeli strike "led to considerable damage to infrastructure and the closure of the airport for nearly two weeks or 13 days."

That "meant the suspension of UN deliveries of humanitarian assistance which is extremely serious," she said.

Syria's bloody conflict is at risk of further escalation after a front line across the country flared up in recent months, the United Nations also warned on Wednesday in a new report.

"Syria cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be heading," said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chair of the UN's Syria commission.