Sana: Damascus and Aleppo airports stopped working due to Israeli strikes
As a result of the attack by the Israel Defense Forces, the Syrian airports of Damascus and Aleppo were put out of operation. An employee of the air harbor was killed, another was injured. The Israeli military did not comment on the explosions at airports, but reported on the regular shelling of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamist radicals in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system and additional battalions of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in the Middle East.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked the runways of the airports of Damascus and Aleppo (Syria) and disabled them. This is reported by the SANA news agency with reference to the Syrian Armed Forces.
"At approximately 5:25, the Israeli enemy simultaneously carried out air aggression, launching missiles from the Mediterranean Sea west of Latakia and from the occupied Syrian Golan at the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo," SANA said in a statement.
The attack led to the "martyrdom" of an employee of the Damascus airport and injuries to another. The runways were disabled.
The Syrian Ministry of Transport has transferred regular flights to Latakia airport. It has not yet been announced when the airports will be restored.
Representatives of the IDF did not comment on the information about the damage to Syrian airports.
This is not the first IDF attack on Syrian airports during the current escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Strikes were also carried out on October 12 and 15.
On October 12, a plane en route from Iran to Syria had to turn around, back to Tehran. Ynet reported that the aim of the strike was to prevent the transfer of weapons to Lebanon.
Syria and Lebanon sided with the Hamas movement. The Israeli side stated that shelling was being conducted from the territory of these States.
The IDF is shooting back in different directions
The IDF continues to hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
"During the day, dozens of terrorist tunnel shafts, weapons depots, headquarters, command centers and mosques used by Hamas terrorists as operational headquarters were attacked," the military said in a statement.
The IDF was informed about an air strike on an underground complex of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements (the organization is banned in Russia) at the Al-Ansar mosque in the city of Jenin on the West Bank of Jordan. According to the Israeli military, the terrorist cell located here is responsible for several terrorist attacks and was preparing the following attacks. The Military Information Service of the Hezbollah movement reported that two people were killed and several were injured.
The Israeli military destroyed another "terrorist cell" in southern Lebanon, which was preparing to launch anti-tank missiles. The strikes were carried out on the observation equipment and military infrastructure of the Hezbollah group, as well as on the launch site of a Lebanese rocket aimed at an Israeli drone.
The Ministry of Defense and the IDF announced the evacuation of 14 more settlements on the border with Lebanon.
The United States seeks to help an ally
Batteries of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense systems and additional Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems will be deployed in the Middle East. This is stated in a statement by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, published on the Pentagon website.
Austin also ordered to prepare for the deployment of additional troops to "strengthen readiness and the possibility of a quick response if necessary."
Earlier, the United States sent the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford with five escort ships to the Middle East, as well as the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with three escort ships.
Alexey Permyakov