Israel's airstrikes near Aleppo Airport leave 52 dead, SOHR
Shafaq News/ The death toll from Israeli airstrikes near Aleppo International Airport rose to 52, including 38 regime soldiers, seven Lebanese Hezbollah members, and seven Syrian fighters backed by Iran. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR.)
The strikes, conducted on Friday, targeted a missile warehouse belonging to Hezbollah and a nearby training center in the Jibreen area near the airport. The bombings also hit defense factories in Al-Safirah.
A military source quoted by SANA said earlier that Israeli warplanes initiated an attack around 1:45 a.m., local time, from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo.
SOHR reported a total of 28 attacks by Israel in 2024, comprising 20 airstrikes and eight rocket attacks. These strikes destroyed nearly 56 targets, including buildings, weapons, ammunition warehouses, headquarters, centers, and vehicles.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of 114 combatants and injuries to 47 others.
Based on the Britain-based Agency's data, among the fatalities were distributed as follows: 13 IRGC members, 20 Lebanese Hezbollah members, 12 Iraqi individuals, 21 Iranian-backed Syrian members, nine Iranian-backed non-Syrians, 38 Syrian soldiers, and one unidentified person.
In addition, ten civilians, including a woman, were killed, and ten others were injured.
Israel's recent airstrikes in northern Syria's Aleppo province marked some of the deadliest in months, targeting Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions. These strikes are part of Israel's intensified campaign against Iran's proxies, mainly Hezbollah.
The Israeli Army revealed that among the casualties was Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missiles unit, who was killed in an airstrike in Lebanon's Bazouriye area.
Naim was known for leading heavy-warhead rocket attacks and planning assaults against Israeli civilians. The Army said.
Iran's foreign ministry condemned Israel's actions, labeling them a "blatant and desperate attempt" to escalate the conflict, calling the international community to condemn these acts.
Notably, Israel has conducted previous attacks on Aleppo and the Syrian capital, Damascus, even before the outbreak of the October 7 war, citing concerns that Iran and its proxies might utilize Syria as "a base for aggression" against it.
Hezbollah's significant presence in Syria began during the 2011 Arab Spring protests; it is actively engaged in Syria, backing President Bashar al-Assad against the opposition and ISIS.
Israel's actual nightmare, Hezbollah, is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East that has been deeply involved in intense, near-daily cross-border fighting with Israel since October 7, marking the most significant escalation since the 2006 war.
So far, approximately 250 Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon. Conversely, the group has targeted Israel with heavy missiles, resulting in the deaths of soldiers and the destruction of hundreds of military telecommunication towers.
