Deadly bomb blast near Damascus Shia shrine ahead of Ashura
Al JazeeraJul 31, 2023
Syrian State Media: Another Israeli Strike on Damascus Kills 2 Civilians
Image copyright: AFP [via France 24]
The Facts
Syria's official state news agency (SANA), citing a military source, reported that an Israeli strike on Damascus and its southern environs left two civilians dead and "some material damage." [The attack immediately followed a series of air strikes and security incidents over the weekend.]
The day before, SANA reported that a car bomb exploded in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezzeh — where embassies and UN agencies are located — Sunday night, with no group taking responsibility for the attack. SANA did not blame Israel for the strike, saying that an investigation is ongoing.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Israel has been carrying out air strikes against suspected Iranian weapons transfers and personnel and its proxies in Syria for almost a decade. Though the strikes are part of a low-intensity conflict to slow Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, the West has seemingly dropped its previous plan of diplomacy to allow Israel and other allies to, instead, use military force to settle its grievances with Tehran — a risky strategy that underestimates the magnitude and repercussions of a military escalation.
Pro-establishment narrative
Syria is a conflict zone with many actors, all of which can cause this "shadow war" to go hot, and Iran — with its coordinated effort with Russia, which controls much of the Syrian airspace — risks pushing it over the edge. Israel has been clear that it will not permit Iran to freely move weapons and fighters through Syria if such activities threaten Israeli security, and is right to target Iranian assets in any of the countries into which Tehran has dug its tentacles.
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