Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missile strikes near the capital, Damascus, overnight, marking the third such attack in recent nights, according to Syria's state news agency, SANA.

Explosions were heard repeatedly in the area as the Israeli occupation forces targeted locations around Damascus.

The Syrian air defense systems successfully intercepted most missiles aimed at western Damascus, particularly in the direction of the Mezzeh neighborhood. However, the strikes led to casualties, with the Syrian Defense Ministry stating that three were killed and 9 others injured as a result of the Israeli aggression.

Journalist Safaa Ahmad was killed in the aggression.

Footage showed a car engulfed in flames after being struck in Mezzeh, with Syrian media confirming that firefighting teams were working to control the blaze.

#WATCH | Circulating footage of a car burning following the Israeli aggression on #Damascus. pic.twitter.com/aWVI5htSLc

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 1, 2024

This comes on the heels of the Syrian air defenses on Sunday intercepting a drone heading toward the western countryside of Homs in light of escalating Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory.

An Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the Wadi Hanna area in al-Qusayr, near a Syrian Army checkpoint in the Homs countryside. According to the report, loud explosions were heard across the city of Homs, accompanied by intense barrages of anti-aircraft missiles. 

This latest strike comes amid an escalation of Israeli attacks on various regions in Syria, coinciding with increased Israeli aggression on Lebanon. Tensions have been particularly high along the Syrian-Lebanese border, where Israeli aircraft launched attacks near Lebanese areas in the country's east.

The sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft fire were also reported in areas such as al-Qusayr, Jousiyah, Qalamoun, and Kfeir Yabous near the border, extending to the northern countryside of Quneitra, near Mount Hermon, parallel to Lebanon's western Beqaa region.

In a separate incident on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed a man and his wife when their home in Beit Saber, located in Mount Hermon in the Damascus countryside, was hit.

This surge in Israeli air raids continues to provoke regional instability, with both Syria and Lebanon bearing the brunt of the aggression that targets any and every country that is supporting Gaza in the face of the ongoing genocide.