Israel strikes 'security square' in Damascus in latest Gaza war spillover

Syrian military says one soldier killed in attack on Kfar Souseh, where it and Iranian allies have intelligence bases

People check the damage following an Israeli strike in Kfar Sousseh in Damascus, on July 14, 2024. AFP

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The Israeli air force killed five people in an attack on Sunday on an underground site in a security nerve centre of Damascus, sources in the opposition to President Bashar Al Assad said, in an attack seen as retaliation for the launch of drones from Syria against Israel.

The attacks come amid mounting hostilities between Israeli forces and Iran's allies in the region, who have used Syrian army installations to attack Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October.

Many fear they could soon develop into an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, the most powerful of the groups in the Iran-led Axis of Resistance. Hezbollah controls the Lebanese side of the frontier in Israel but also has strong presence in Syria.

A reconnaissance specialist in the Syrian opposition said Syrian and Iranian personnel recovered overnight at least five bodies from an underground installation in the Kfar Souseh district in Damascus.

“Israeli missiles struck the site several times” the source said. The Israeli military described one of the targets that its air force hit on Sunday as a Syrian command centre but it did not say where it was.

Kfar Souseh comprises the core of what is known as the “security square” in Damascus, where military groups including Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allies have set up bases between upmarket residential buildings.

The IRGC has been a major supporter of Mr Assad's regime during the continuing Syrian civil war.

Israel also struck weapons storage sites belonging the Syrian military in the Qasioun Mountains on the edge of Damascus, the source said.

“Israel's message to Assad is that his army will be paying a price for acting as a cover for the Iranians and Hezbollah,” he said.

The Syrian military said one solider was killed in the Israeli strikes, without specifying where.

Photos published by online media outlets loyal to Mr Assad's government showed the torn roof of an underground site, between residential buildings in Kfar Souseh. Remains of cars could be seen inside.

The Israeli army said it had struck the command centre and other targets, including air defences and other military infrastructure.

It was in response to two drones that had “approached the area north of [the port city of Eilat] from Syrian territory and were successfully intercepted”.

“The Syrian regime is responsible for all terror activities occurring within its territory and will be held accountable for it,” the army said.

The statement was a rare description by the Israeli military of its actions in Syria.

AFP quoted a Damascus resident as saying that the blasts were strong, with one following the other. There was “the strong odour of gunpowder,” the resident said.

The Syrian army is not thought to have directly carried out recent attacks on Israel from Syria, and it has rarely retaliated to the frequent Israeli attacks on Syrian territory.

But Hezbollah and other armed groups with strong links to Iran have been increasingly using their presence in Syria, and access to Syrian infrastructure, to launch attacks against Israel.

It is seen as part of a strategy to relieve pressure on the Iran-backed militant group Hamas, amid the current Gaza war, and to relieve pressure on battle grounds in Lebanon, where hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel threaten to develop into an all-out war.

Kfar Souseh has been hit several times in the course of an Israeli campaign in the last decade to counter Iran's increasing presence of Syria. Tehran is seen as in control of a corridor running across the country, from Iraq to Lebanon, which is regarded as the main supply line to Hezbollah in Lebanon.