Syria Demands International Action against Israel after Attack Kills 5 Civilians

Syria today demanded holding Israel accountable for Sunday’s missile attack on a Damascus suburb that killed 5 civilians and wounded 15 besides destroying a heritage building that housed the Institute for Antiquities and Museums.

“Syria expects the United Nations Secretariat and Security Council to condemn Israeli aggression and crimes, take the necessary measures to deter them, hold them accountable, punish their perpetrators and ensure they do not recur,” the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

The ministry added, “The aggression comes in the context of the systematic Israeli attacks against the Syrian civilian targets, including homes, service centers, airports, and ports, intimidating the Syrians who are still suffering from the catastrophic effects left by the earthquake and working to support those affected by it.”

The ministry said the Israeli attack coincides with that carried out by Daesh (ISIS) in the eastern countryside of Homs province.

“The continuation of these brutal attacks and crimes against the Palestinian and Syrian people constitutes an explicit threat to peace and security in the region and requires urgent international action to stop the Israeli aggressive actions on Syrian territory,” the statement said.

While Israel has not officially owned up to the raid, a Pro-Israel Twitter handle Israel War Room said Israel’s recent strike took out Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force chief Ismail Qaani. The tweet also said the information was “unconfirmed.”

The strike on Damascus, was delivered by four Israel Air Force F-16 fighter jets, Oleg Gurinov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), was quoted as saying by TASS on Sunday.

"From 00:22 to 00:27 a.m. on February 19, four F-16 tactical jets on the Israeli air force delivered a missile strike on Damascus from the Golan Heights. As a result, the buildings of the Technical Institute of Applied Arts and the center of culture in the Kaft Sousa neighborhood were destroyed," he said.