UPDATE – Syria says civilians injured in Israeli airstrikes in Homs

UPDATES WITH ISRAELI CONFIRMATION, ADDS CHANGES

By Iyad Nabolsi

ISTANBUL (AA) – Syrian authorities reported Israeli airstrikes in the city of Qusayr in the central Homs province on Thursday.

The state news agency SANA said civilians were injured in the Israeli attack that targeted industrial and residential neighborhoods in the city, causing material damage.

Thursday’s attack came a week after similar Israeli strikes killed a soldier and injured seven others in Homs and Damascus on Oct. 24.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed the strikes, alleging in a post on X that the attacks targeted arms depots and facilities in Syria used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

There was no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

The strikes came as regional tensions have escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,200 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

As the conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, over 2,800 people have been killed and more than 12,900 others injured in Israeli attacks since last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

* Writing by Mohammad Sio