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Arabic outlets report that 8 senior Iranian officials killed in apparent Israeli airstrike on Iranian embassy in Syria.
By: David Rosenberg – WorldIsraelNews.com
At least eight senior Iranian officials were killed in an explosion targeting Iran’s embassy to Syria Monday afternoon, according to Arabic media outlet reports.
According to the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya news outlet, Israeli aircraft carried out an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, in an apparent targeted killing of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members.
Among the dead, according to the report, is General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, which coordinates operations with Iran’s proxies abroad, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi rebels, and various militias in Iraq and Syria.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that a building owned by the Iranian mission to Syria had been hit in the airstrike Monday, adding that eight people were killed.
The fatalities include” a high-ranking leader” – likely referring to Zahedi – two Iranian advisors, and five other members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Israel carried out an attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus and assassinated 8 high-ranking Iranian leaders,” the Observatory tweeted.
Syrian air defense systems were activated during the attack, with explosions reported in the Al-Mazzah area of Damascus.
Journalist Ali Hashem noted that the building struck in the airstrike is located between the main Iranian embassy building and the Canadian embassy, suggesting only a high-value target would lead to a strike so close to a Western diplomatic facility.
There have been no reports thus far of casualties among the Canadian mission to Damascus.
According to a report by Reuters, the building targeted in the strike was the Iranian consulate and the ambassador’s residence.
Syria’s state media outlet, SANA, confirmed that there were casualties in Monday’s strike, but did not provide details.
The Iranian outlet Tasnim initially reported five deaths in the airstrike.
An Israeli army spokesperson refused to confirm or deny the IDF’s involvement in the attack.
Also on Monday, World Israel News also reported that the head of the South Hebron Hills Regional Council charged that Palestinians are illegally building bomb shelters for the IDF near the village of Otniel, and made an unlawful land grab to set up a factory, Israel National News reported Monday.
“This is ridiculous,” said Eliram Azoulay. “An illegal factory is taking over Area C,” where Israel has full control in Judea and Samaria.
According to Azoulay, “They have no permit there for an illegally-built factory. It’s not a place that has been approved for construction and they don’t have a building permit.”
The work to set up the factory began after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023, with a large area being excavated close to the settlement.
The firm has already begun churning out portable shelters that are being sent to army bases.
Azoulay noted that the trucks that go in and out of the factory area have signs that state they are a “Ministry of Defense supplier.” This allows them entry to Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control but Israeli security control.
Azoulay hinted to the security danger this could entail.
Some of the factory’s trucks were seen entering the nearby Arab village of Karameh, “where it was reported in September that a Hamas terrorist unit was planning to carry out an attack in the immediate future and had been arrested by the Shin Bet,” he said. (worldIsraelnews.com)
