An Israeli strike against Damascus on January 20, the capital of Syria, destroyed a facility used by the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard today, according to Associated Press-cited reports from Syrian and Iranian media. At least four Iranians were killed as a result.
The Syrian army reported that the “Mazeh” structure, located in the fortified western district of Damascus, had been completely demolished. It further stated that Israeli military aircraft overflew the Golan Heights in Syria, which is under Israeli occupation, launching missiles. The Israeli military has refrained from providing any commentary regarding the assaults.
The national news agency of Lebanon reported that a few hours later, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle near the southern coastal city of Tyre, resulting in the deaths of two individuals. The precise target of the attack remains uncertain at this time; however, analogous assaults have previously been directed towards individuals affiliated with Hezbollah, a Palestinian organisation, and Hezbollah, which Iran supports.
Two of the deceased in Damascus were identified by the news website “Nour News,” which is believed to have ties to the Iranian intelligence service. These individuals were identified as General Sadegh Omidzadeh, the deputy director of intelligence for the “Al Quds” forces in Syria, and his deputy, identified by the alias Hajj Gholam. The specific responsibilities of Hujjatollah Omidvar, Ali Agazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, and Saeed Karimi were not specified in a subsequent statement that confirmed their deaths.
The informational discrepancy has not yet been clarified.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition organisation that monitors the conflict, a missile strike during a gathering of officials from Iran-backed groups claimed the lives of at least six individuals, including five Iranians and one Syrian. According to Rami Abdulrahman, the centre’s director, three of the Iranians were commanders, while four others are still unaccounted for beneath the debris.
Rescue operations are in progress to locate individuals entombed in the rubble of the collapsed four-story structure, which is surrounded by security personnel. Broken windows are observed in adjacent structures.
At 10:15 a.m., a vendor close to the location of the attack reported witnessing three injured individuals and the dismembered remains of a man and a woman, in addition to five consecutive explosives.
The assault transpires amid a region experiencing heightened tensions due to Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, which was instigated on October 7 in response to a Hamas assault that claimed the lives of an estimated 1,200 individuals and the captivity of 250 in Gaza.
