Moscow on Friday condemned Israeli strikes on Syria as “completely unacceptable,” after a war monitor said more than 40 were killed in the latest air assault.
“Such aggressive actions against the Syrian Arab Republic, which constitute a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and the basic norms of international law, are categorically unacceptable,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
The Israeli airstrike on Syria’s Aleppo province killed at least 44 Syrian soldiers on Friday morning, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which added that Hezbollah weapons depots were located in the area.
The Israeli attack targeted an area “near rockets depots belonging to Hezbollah,” said the SOHR, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria.
“At least 42 soldiers were killed and dozens wounded,” it said, before reassessing the death toll at 44.
It also said that the targeted area is located near Aleppo’s international airport.
Syrian state news agency SANA said that the pre-dawn strike killed and wounded civilians, as well as military personnel.
A Syrian military source told SANA that “at approximately 1:45 AM, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo,” adding that “civilians and military personnel” had been killed and wounded in the strike.
When contacted by AFP from Jerusalem, the Israeli military said that it would “not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria since the civil war began there in 2011, as it seeks to cut off Hezbollah supply routes to Lebanon.
The frequency of these strikes has increased since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began on October 7.
With AFP
