Israeli airstrike targets residential building in Syrian capital, killing at least one: reports

By Xinhua Published: Mar 14, 2025 10:36 AM

This photo taken on March 13, 2025 shows a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria. An Israeli airstrike on Thursday targeted a residential building in the Mashrou' Dummar neighborhood northwest of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing one person, local media and a war monitoring group reported. According to Syria's state news agency SANA, the strike resulted in casualties, though the exact number of wounded remains unclear. (Photo: Xinhua)

An Israeli airstrike on Thursday targeted a residential building in the Mashrou' Dummar neighborhood northwest of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing one person, local media and a war monitoring group reported.

According to Syria's state news agency SANA, the strike resulted in casualties, though the exact number of wounded remains unclear.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported that "the attack set fire to surrounding residential buildings, and civil defense teams rushed to extinguish the blazes and rescue those trapped."

"At least one person was reported killed," it noted.

There has been no immediate comment from Syrian authorities regarding the strike.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed the airstrike, claiming it targeted a command center belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

"The command center was used by the Islamic Jihad to plan and direct terrorist activities against the State of Israel," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also sent a threatening message to Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying that wherever militant activities against Israel are organized, "the leader of radical Islam (in Syria), al-Julani (al-Sharaa's nom de guerre), will find Israeli Air Force jets hovering above him and striking terrorist targets."

"There will be no immunity for Islamist terror against Israel, neither in Damascus nor anywhere else," Katz warned. "We will not allow Syria to become a threat to Israel."

The airstrike is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, with Israel repeatedly claiming to target military facilities posing threats to Israel.