DAMASCUS: Israeli strikes knocked out war-torn Syria’s two main airports, state media reported citing a military source, with the transport ministry saying flights were re-routed to Latakia.
“At around 5:25am (0225 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out... an air attack... targeting Damascus and Aleppo international airports, leading to the death of two civilian workers at Damascus airport and wounding another,” the military source said in the statement carried by state news agency SANA.
“Material damage to the airports’ runways put them out of service,” the statement added. The transport ministry said flights were diverted to Latakia airport.
The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppo’s airport as tensions increases in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.
Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on October 7, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria including one on the Damascus airport and two on Aleppo’s airport putting them out of service.
Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syria’s 12-year conflict helping tip the balance in favor of President Bashar Al Assad’s forces.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
