Israel repeatedly attacks positions of pro-Iranian militias in Syria. Now there are reported to be more deaths. Meanwhile, according to the media, pessimism is spreading in talks about a ceasefire in Gaza.
Damascus/Gaza – According to Syrian sources, at least five people were killed in an attack on positions of pro-Iranian militias, presumably by the Israeli air force. The Syrian state agency Sana reported overnight, citing the director of the National Hospital in Masjaf, that 19 other people were injured. Warplanes attacked weapons depots of pro-Iranian militias near the city of Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. There were several explosions.
Israel does not usually comment on such attacks. However, the Israeli army repeatedly attacks positions of militias in Syria that are supported by Iran. Government soldiers and militiamen are regularly killed in the process.
The area attacked during the night is west of Hama and is considered a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, reported the Times of Israel. It has been the target of repeated attacks attributed to Israel in recent years. There is also a research center there which, according to Israeli information, is used by Iranian forces to produce precision missiles.
Since the Gaza war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas began eleven months ago, Israel has stepped up its attacks in Syria. The Jewish state wants to prevent Iran from expanding its military influence in the country with the help of militias. The Islamic Republic, along with Russia, is the most important ally of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Fading hope for ceasefire in Gaza
Meanwhile, negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have not made any progress for months. The hope is that a ceasefire will prevent the war in the region from escalating. However, according to a report in the Financial Times, the US military is preparing for the collapse of the talks, which are being mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar. US media recently reported on a planned final proposal for an agreement.
The head of the US foreign intelligence service CIA, William Burns, then said at an event hosted by the newspaper in London: “We will present this more detailed proposal, in the next few days, I hope, and then we will see.” According to Israeli media, however, it is unlikely that this will happen. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told the US broadcaster Fox News that there is no deal in sight.
Critics accuse Netanyahu of trying to torpedo the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war with excessive demands – such as the permanent presence of the Israeli military in strategic locations in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu governs in a coalition with right-wing extremist parties that reject any concessions to Hamas and threaten to collapse the government coalition.
EU chief diplomat travels to the Middle East
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell now wants to campaign for a ceasefire during a visit to the Middle East. He wants to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo today and also visit the Rafah border crossing to the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Service in Brussels announced. The mediators’ efforts are “high on the agenda” in the talks. On Tuesday, Borrell wants to meet Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atti and attend a meeting of the Arab League.
Borrell also plans to hold political talks in Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been almost daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the border region between the two countries.
No visit to Israel planned
According to the statement, Borrell is not planning to visit Israel. The Spaniard has repeatedly criticized Israel’s war in Gaza. He stressed that it began with the “terrible terrorist attack by Hamas” on October 7 last year, in which around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and more than 250 others were taken hostage. However, “one horror cannot justify further horror,” Borrell told Foreign Policy magazine in May.
Israel responded to the terrorist attack with air strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,800 Palestinians have been killed in the sealed-off coastal area since then. The number does not distinguish between fighters and civilians and is difficult to verify independently.
The UN Human Rights Council is meeting today in Geneva for its third and final session of the year. The agenda includes Hamas terror against Israel and the catastrophic conditions following Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. dpa
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