Syria claims Israel struck Homs for second time this month

Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in the area near Homs, Syria for the second time within a month on Tuesday night, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.The Syrian Defense Ministry claimed that Israeli aircraft carried out the strike from Lebanese airspace. Lebanese media also reported that Israeli jets were seen in multiple areas throughout the country, including near Beirut.

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In an official statement, the ministry said that Syrian air defense systems were able to intercept some of the Israeli rockets and that they will conduct an investigation into the extent of the damages caused by the “aggression.”    There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the Syrian media. Reports on Wednesday indicated major material damage.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the airstrike targeted al-Shayrat airbase and sites belonging to Iranian militias near Homs and that a cargo plane had flown between the airbase and the T-4 airbase shortly before the airstrikes occurred.The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen news reported that the targets were missile bases east of Homs.Both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad responded to the attack on Wednesday.“The Israeli bombing of Syria is an aggression against all parts of the nation and the destruction of its capabilities,” said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem, according to Al-Mayadeen. The spokesperson called on the nation to unify its capabilities and efforts in order to “confront the aggression.”PIJ stated that the airstrikes are an “attack on all Arabs and Muslims. The attack calls for a responsible and serious response in response to the continuation of this terrorism and the repeated targeting of Syrian lands,” according to Al-Mayadeen.On March 5, an attack on the same area that was also attributed to Israel was carried out from Lebanese airspace and the Golan Heights, according to SANA.Homs is nearly 125 miles (about 200 km.) away from the Golan Heights.Although the airspace above the Golan Heights was closed to civilian flights after the strikes on March 5, a similar decision was not made after Tuesday’s airstrikes.Israel has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate Iran building up its forces in Syria. Airstrikes on Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias throughout Syria have been blamed on Israel, although Israel has only claimed direct responsibility for a small number of them.