Israel Bombs 10 Military Sites in Syria

CrossFireArabia
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December 9, 2024

Israel has conducted strikes on 10 arms depots and military facilities in areas of Syria controlled by groups that overthrew the 61-year Baath regime.

According to information obtained by Anadolu from opposition-affiliated air monitoring officials, Israeli warplanes targeted Damascus’ Mezzeh Military Airport, Quneitra Gara, Minket al-Hadab, Damascus Security Zone, Quneitra Tel al-Sham, Damascus Military Science Center, Tel Aqrabeh in the countryside of Daraa, Kalkaleh Military Base, Tel al-Talib in Daraa, and various sites in the town of Ghita.

The targeted locations are known to house strategic military facilities and weapons depots.

“Israeli forces have recently targeted munitions posing a threat to Israel and Syrian air defense systems at risk of being captured by rebels,” Israeli daily Haaretz quoted sources in the Israeli military as saying.

According to the sources, the collapse of the Syrian army could allow armed groups to enter the buffer zone on the Israeli border.

As a result, Israeli forces have been deployed to the area, preparing for scenarios where reserve forces might be needed.

Israeli military perceives ‘threats’ from groups in Syria

According to Israeli State Television KAN, the Israeli military confirmed its occupation of Mount Hermon (Sheikh Mountain) on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

It said that air force units seized the Syrian side of Sheikh Mountain to strengthen defensive positions against “potential threats” from groups that toppled the Baath regime.

The operation reportedly began after these groups started capturing Syrian military positions near the Israeli border.

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and then, on Sunday, the capital Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israel Kills 200 Lebanese Children – UNICEF

CrossFireArabia
May 15, 2026

More than four children have been killed or injured every day on average in Lebanon in the first 25 days of a temporary ceasefire with families still unable to return to their homes, said Save the Children.

New data from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday showed that 22 children have been killed and 89 injured since the temporary ceasefire started on 17 April. This brings the number of children killed in Israeli strikes since renewed escalation in hostilities in Lebanon on 2 March to almost 200 with about 2,900 people killed.

The violence and renewed displacement orders have forced more than one million people – or one in six of the population – from their homes with many now living with relatives, in host communities or in collective shelters.

The number of families living in collective shelters has increased 5% since the conditional ceasefire due to renewed displacement orders by Israeli forces and as families return home to find destroyed houses and damaged farmland so move back the collective shelters. There are now 44,800 children among about 125,000 people in collective shelters.

Thousands of children have been living in collective shelters for over two months in overcrowded conditions with inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities leading to reports of scabies and growing health concerns.

Parents are reporting widespread behavioural changes among children living in collective shelters due to a lack of routine and reduced school engagement including loss of appetite and trouble sleeping. Many children are struggling to continue learning with some schools used as collective shelters and also difficulties accessing online learning due to limited electricity, and poor connectivity.

Tala*, 10, has been living in a collective shelter after being displaced from southern Lebanon, said:

“I just want the war to end so I can go home to my village and sleep in my own bed. I really miss school, I want to see my teachers and be with my friends, and study and play again.”

Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon Country Director, said:

“This ‘so called’ ceasefire that still sees more than four children killed or injured every day is not a ceasefire for children. Attacks on civilians have not stopped – it has simply continued under another name. Colleagues have told me that the airstrikes feel more intense in some areas than they ever did before. Children are not safe until there is a permanent and definitive ceasefire with no violations.”

With further peace talks set to take place on Thursday to determine next steps between Lebanon and Israel, Save the Children is calling on the international community to urgently work toward a permanent and definitive ceasefire and ensure flexible and sustained funding to protect children and allow families to return home to resume their lives.

Save the Children has worked in Lebanon since 1953. In collaboration with partners and local authorities, we are distributing essential items in hard-to-reach areas in the south, provide psychosocial support for children, educate families and children about the risks of unexploded ordnance, ensure access to safe water and sanitation facilities, and distribute essential items for those displaced.

ENDS:

Sources:

Lebanon Ministry of Health

Israeli strikes have killed 380 in Lebanon since truce: Health ministry

Lebanon Ministry of Health

Lebanon-Emergency-Sitrep-23-2026.pdf

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