Russia has accused Israel of violating international law by attacking Syria with airstrikes.
Israeli missiles reportedly struck airports in Damascus and Aleppo, damaging runways and forcing the airports to suspend operations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “In the context of the sharp escalation of the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, such forceful actions may lead to extremely dangerous consequences, as they could provoke an armed escalation throughout the region.
“That must never be allowed to happen.”
Analysts have suggested Israel may have been targeting Iranian weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon, which would have added to the threat on Israel’s border. There has been no confirmation of this from the Israelis.
Syrian State media reported that Israeli airstrikes on Thursday hit the international airports of the capital Damascus and the Northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways and putting them out of service.
State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that no one was hurt in the attacks.
It would mark the first Israeli airstrikes on Syria since the Palestinian terror group Hamas carried out its vicious weekend onslaught in southern Israel that killed over 1,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Israel has retaliated with intensive airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza.
A Syrian military official told SANA, “This aggression is a desperate attempt by the criminal Israeli enemy to divert attention from the crimes it is committing in Gaza, and the great losses it is suffering at the hands of the Palestinian resistance.”
The Israeli military declined to comment.
The airstrikes came a day before Iran’s Foreign Minister was scheduled to visit Syria to meet officials over the volatile situation in the region.
On Tuesday, a number of mortars were fired from Syria at the Golan Heights. The IDF said several of the projectiles crossed into Israeli territory and landed in open areas, causing no damage.
The IDF said it carried out artillery strikes in Syria in response, targeting the origin of the mortar fire.
