Israeli strikes kill 7 in Syria's Daraa, hit military bases in Palmyra

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen
25 Mar 2025 08:15

The Israeli occupation military had previously claimed responsibility for targeting the same bases on Friday.

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An Israeli Air Force F-15 warplane is seen before landing in an airbase in central occupied Palestine, on Monday, April 15, 2024 (AP)

Seven people were killed and several others were injured, in an initial toll, following an Israeli airstrike targeting the town of Koayiah, west of Daraa, in southern Syria, local sources told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday.

The sources indicated that the Israeli bombardment targeted Koayiah in the al-Yarmouk Basin area, west of Daraa, with tank shells.

The ongoing Israeli bombardment on Koayiah has led to the displacement of residents to nearby towns and villages, according to the sources.

Israeli airstrikes target two military bases in central Syria

Earlier on Tuesday, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the Palmyra Airport and the T-4 military bases in eastern Homs countryside, central Syria.

The Israeli occupation military said that it had once again targeted the two military bases, a day after the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned that such strikes, along with those in Lebanon, risked escalating tensions.

The military had previously claimed responsibility for targeting the same bases on Friday.

During a visit to occupied al-Quds on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas cautioned that Israeli airstrikes on Syria and Lebanon were exacerbating regional instability.

"Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation," Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

"We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel," Kallas told journalists.

"Israel" has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December, claiming that its assaults are aimed at preventing weapons from reaching the new authorities.

Despite an existing ceasefire, "Israel" has also continued its assaults in Lebanon. On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed eight people, in response to what "Israel" claimed was rocket fire launched from Lebanon, in a first since the ceasefire took effect on November 27.

Additionally, Israeli occupation forces have been deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

Syria’s foreign ministry has condemned "Israel’s" actions, accusing it of conducting a campaign aimed at destabilizing the country.

Leader of ISIS cell in al-Bukamal killed

In a separate context, the head of the executive force of the General Security Directorate in the Syrian city of al-Bukamal, located in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, Mohammad Yusuf al-Muhanna, was killed, and several personnel were injured during a security operation targeting a cell affiliated with ISIS in the city, which lies on the Syria-Iraq border.

Syrian state TV cited a source in the General Security as saying that the operation in the al-Kataf neighborhood of al-Bukamal resulted in the killing of the leader of the ISIS cell, Hamza al-Sulaiman.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had previously warned of attempts by ISIS to regain control over large areas of Syria.

This warning came just days after regional countries launched a center to coordinate efforts in combating ISIS, with participation from Jordan, Iraq, Turkiye, Lebanon, and Syria.