2024 Homs airstrikes
Part of the Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war and spillover of the Israel–Hamas war
TypeAirstrikes
Location
Homs, Syria
Date7 February 2024
Executed by Israeli Air Force
Casualties10 killed

On 7 February 2024, the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes against a number of sites in Homs in central Syria, killing 10 people, including 6 civilians and 2 Hezbollah fighters.[1] The airstrikes took place after the US Air Force bombed targets in Iraq and Syria on 2 February 2024.[2]

Background

Since the Israel–Hamas war began on 7 October 2023, there has been an escalation in Israeli attacks on Iranian-backed militias. Israel has consistently conducted airstrikes on targets it claims to be connected to Iran since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, rarely commenting on these actions. There has been an Iranian presence in Syria since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, with Iranian forces bolstering the government of President Bashar al-Assad against rebel forces.[3]

On 2 February 2024, the United States Air Force launched airstrikes on what it said were Iranian-backed targets in Iraq and Syria, killing 45 in retaliation for the Tower 22 drone attack that killed 3 US soldiers in Jordan.[3]

Airstrikes

At 00:30 local time (UTC+3), Israel launched missile strikes on Homs from the direction of north of Tripoli in Lebanon,[4][5] targeting Shayrat Airbase and other sites near the city of Homs and the countryside.[3] The airstrikes demolished a building in one of Homs' most affluent districts, as well as other targets linked to Iranian-backed groups. There was damage to private and public property in the al-Malaab neighborhood and Hamra street, where at least nine explosions were heard.[2][6] According to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, 10 people were killed, including 6 civilians and 2 Hezbollah fighters. Among the dead were 3 students, a woman and a child.[1][2]

Syrian state media stated that the Syrian Air Defense Force intercepted and shot down Israeli missiles.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Civilians among 10 dead in Israel strikes on Syria: monitor". France 24. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Aji, Albert; Chehayeb, Kareem (7 February 2024). "Syria says Israeli airstrikes over Homs have killed and wounded civilians". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Jackson, Patrick (7 February 2024). "Syria says Israel bombed targets in Homs area". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "A number of civilians martyred, others injured in Israeli aggression on Homs and its countryside". Syrian Arab News Agency. 7 February 2024. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Syria: civilian casualties reported in Israeli air strikes on Homs". Middle East Monitor. 7 February 2024. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ Aji, Albert; Chehayeb, Kareem (7 February 2024). "Syria says Israeli airstrikes over Homs have killed and wounded civilians". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
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