Damascus, Syria – Tensions continued to escalate in the Middle East on Saturday after an Israeli missile strike leveled an Iranian military base near Damascus, killing 5 members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and an unknown number of Syrian soldiers.
The attack hit a multi-story building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus that was being used as a base of operations by Iranian military advisers supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to a security source close to the Syrian government. The building was completely flattened by what the source described as “precision-targeted Israeli missiles.”
Among the 5 Revolutionary Guards members killed was an individual who ran the intelligence unit for the elite force, the source revealed. The strike also resulted in an unspecified number of casualties among the Syrian military personnel present at the base.
Ambulances and fire trucks hurried to the cordoned-off site as rescue operations continued throughout the day to search for people trapped in the rubble. A crane worked to lift off the concrete slabs covering the area.
The attack represents Israel’s latest strike against Iran’s military presence in Syria, which has escalated in recent months following an attack on Israel by militants of the Iranian-backed Palestinian group Hamas.
Israel has long pursued a bombing campaign aimed at Iran’s growing network of military and security forces embedded across Syria. However, it rarely comments publicly on such strikes.
In a statement, Iran‘s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani characterized the Israeli strike as a “desperate attempt to spread instability in region.” He went on to say that Iran “reserves its right to respond to the organized terrorism of the fake Zionist regime at the appropriate time and place.
The Revolutionary Guards issued their own statement mourning the deaths of 5 of their members, and an unspecified number of Syrian military personnel. They vowed to carry out revenge attacks against Israel in retaliation.
According to hospital director Essam Al-Amin, at least one fatality and three injured individuals, including one woman, were received at Al-Mowasat Hospital in Damascus following the airstrike.
Syrian state media also reported an “Israeli aerial attack” targeting a building in Mazzeh. They claimed Syrian air defenses had intercepted a number of the missiles.
The strike comes after months of escalating violence and instability reverberating across the Middle East in the aftermath of a major conflict between Israel and Hamas last October.
During that clash, Israel unleashed devastating air and ground assaults on Gaza with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas. In response, Hamas and other Iranian-backed militant groups in Syria and Lebanon have fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
Just last month, Israeli airstrikes killed two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members near Damascus. Another Christmas Day strike assassinated a senior Guards adviser who had been coordinating military cooperation between Iran and Syria.
Saturday’s attack appears to be part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to counter Iran’s deepening entrenchment across Syria. Iranian military forces and their allies have embedded themselves in areas across eastern, southern and northern Syria, as well as in the suburbs surrounding the capital city of Damascus.
With tensions continuing to increase following this latest strike, the potential for further escalation and revenge attacks threatens to add fuel to an already combustible situation across the Middle East. The Israeli bombing campaign aimed at rolling back Iran’s military footprint in Syria shows no signs of abating as Iran vows retaliation.
