Israeli airstrikes target Syrian capital

Syrian Army air defenses repelled Israeli missile attacks that targeted several positions around Damascus and downed most of the missiles, the Syrian state agency SANA reported.

A military source told SANA that nearly at 11 PM on Friday, Israel carried out missile attacks from the north-eastern direction of Tiberias, targeting some posts in the vicinity of Damascus.

The military source added that the air defenses confronted the missile aggression and downed most of them as losses were limited to materials.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights (SOHR) reported that several Israeli missiles hit regime military positions south of the capital Damascus and the area of the Damascus International Airport.

“This came after a month since the last attack on September 17. It is worth noting that this Israeli attack was the 26th one on Syrian territory during 2022,” SOHR said.

Meeting between Assad and Hamas

The Israeli attacks occurred three days after the meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a delegation from Hamas.

Sunni Palestinian Islamist faction publicly endorsed the 2011 Sunni street uprising against Assad's rule and vacated their Damascus headquarters in 2012.

The split between Hamas and Syria angered their common ally, Iran.

A small Hamas delegation visited Assad in Damascus on Wednesday. The Hamas politburo member Khalil Al-Hayya said that the aim of the meeting was "to turn all the pages of the past."

Hayya said: "We consider it a historic meeting and a new start for joint Syrian-Palestinian action," and added that they agreed with President Assad to move beyond the past.