Israel’s attack on Syria will be framed as attack on Iranian asset
Israel’s attack on Syria late last night, which killed at least 18 people, will be framed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an attack on an Iranian asset there, according to an analyst who spoke to Al Jazeera.
Countering Iran’s influence in the region is a long-term battle for the Israeli leader, one which extends beyond Hezbollah in Lebanon, said HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The international community, meanwhile, is too distracted by bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza and ceasing hostilities along Lebanon’s border to react much to the strike in Syria, despite Israel ramping up its aggression in all parts of the region, Hellyer added
“[Netanyahu’s government] seems to think that the continuation of hostilities and escalation is likely to bring about more benefits for them than de-escalation and … diminishing of hostilities.”
‘We had never heard such a sound, a terrifying explosion’
In the Syrian town of Masyaf, a day after deadly Israeli strikes, fire-damaged cars are still visible on both sides of the road, with nearby trees still burning and electric cables damaged and tangled.
Mohammed Akkari, 47, who lives near the site of the strikes with his wife and two children, said they were gripped by fear when their house shook near midnight.
“We had never heard such a sound, a terrifying explosion, my children were terrified,” he told the AFP news agency. At the Masyaf hospital, firefighter Mohammed Shmeil, 36, was being treated for his injured leg and foot. “What we saw during that incident was something else,” he told the agency.
The strikes killed 18 people and wounded 37 others.
Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had also caused “truly significant” damage to water and electricity infrastructure.
