The Observatory: Damascus and Aleppo airports have been out of service for a month due to Israeli bombing
Syrian state television reported on Wednesday that Syrian air defense systems shot down one of two missiles fired by Israel from the direction of the Syrian Golan, targeting points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus.
This comes as Damascus and Aleppo airports remain out of service due to simultaneous Israeli attacks targeting them a month ago, in the longest period of closure since the conflict broke out in 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Wednesday.
All flights to and from Damascus International Airport, the country’s largest and main, have been halted since October 22 due to Israeli attacks on its main runways. Similar attacks on the same day led to the mothballing of Aleppo International Airport, the Syrian Ministry of Transport announced at the time.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France-Presse that the two airports have remained closed to flights since October 22, despite damage to the runways caused by Israeli bombing having been repaired.
During the years of conflict, Israel has repeatedly targeted Damascus airport, putting it out of service for days, but the recent period of closure is the longest, Abdel Rahman explained.
Israel has stepped up attacks on Syrian territory since the Hamas movement launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which has since responded with violent shelling of a sector that has been accompanied by ground operations for weeks.
On Wednesday morning the Observatory reported Israeli airstrikes against the headquarters of the Lebanese group Hezbollah in the Damascus countryside. The official media did not mention the attack.