Syria’s two main airports are still shut a month after simultaneous Israeli strikes put them out of service, making it the longest period of closure since the Syrian conflict began, a monitoring organization said on Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported two Israeli attacks near Damascus on Wednesday, targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, an ally of Syria’s government.
Flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo airports have been suspended since the October 22 strikes damaged the runways.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Observatory, said both airports “are closed” despite the completion of repairs.
Syrian authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the extended closures.
Since Syria’s conflict began in 2011 after the government repressed peaceful anti-government protests, Israel has repeatedly targeted Damascus airport, but this is the first time it has been shut for a month, Abdel Rahman added.
Israel, which has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbor since 2011, primarily targeting Hezbollah fighters and other Iran-backed forces as well as Syrian army positions, has intensified attacks since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.
On Wednesday morning, the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria, said Israeli strikes targeted a center belonging to Hezbollah in the Damascus countryside.
Later in the day, the monitor reported “new Israeli air strikes that targeted Hezbollah” on the outskirts of Damascus without immediately reporting casualties.
State news agency SANA, citing a statement from a military source, said at around 3:10 PM (12:10 GMT), “the Zionist enemy carried out an air attack with two missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus.”
“Air defenses responded to the attack and downed one of the missiles,” the statement said, reporting “material damage.”
Syria’s foreign ministry warned that “such criminal acts threaten the security and stability of the region,” SANA reported.
With both Damascus and Aleppo’s airports out of service, the transport ministry said flights have been re-routed to Latakia on the coast in the west.
Latakia airport, more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Damascus, is smaller, and flights there are limited, including to Russia, Iran, and Iraq.
A Russian military base at the airport protects it from Israeli attack, the Observatory said.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-foe Iran, which backs President Bashar al-Assad’s government, to expand its presence there.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
