On 20 November 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike on residential buildings and an industrial area in Palmyra in central Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes killed at least 108 people, including 73 Iranian-backed Syrian militiamen and 29 foreign Iranian-backed militiamen, mostly members of the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba of Iraq, as well as 15 Hezbollah militants. The strikes also injured more than 50 people.[1][2][3]
| 2024 Palmyra airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) and the Iran–Israel proxy conflict | |
  Palmyra | |
| Location | Palmyra, Syria |
| Date | 20 November 2024 |
| Target |  Syrian Arab Army Hezbollah Harakat al-Nujaba |
Attack type | Airstrikes, massacre |
| Deaths | 108+ |
| Injured | 50+ |
| Perpetrator |  Israeli Air Force |
Background
editSince the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has been conducting hundreds of airstrikes in Syria, targeting the Syrian Army and Iran-backed groups in the country. Since the Israel–Hamas war started on 7 October 2023, Israel increased its airstrikes on Syria as its hostilities with Hezbollah intensified.[4]
Airstrikes
editThe Syrian Ministry of Defense reported that the airstrikes, which took place at 1:30 p.m. on 20 November. 2024, were launched from the direction of the United States military base in Al-Tanf and caused "significant material damage".[4] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that the strikes targeted "a weapons depot near the industrial area" in Palmyra. The United Nations deputy special envoy to Syria told the UN Security Council that the attack was "likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date".[2]
Syrian state media initially reported that the attacks killed 36 people and wounded at least 50 more, as a result of the strikes on residential buildings and an industrial area in Palmyra.[5] The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights however reported that the airstrikes killed more than 108 people. The dead include 73 Iranian-backed Syrian militiamen, including 11 officers working for Hezbollah in Lebanon, and 29 Iranian-backed non-Syrian militiamen, primarily Iraqi fighters of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba.[6][3] The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the airstrike.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Israeli strikes on Syria's Palmyra kills 36, state media say". BBC News. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ a b AFP and ToI Staff. "Over 90 said dead, including 15 Hezbollah operatives, in alleged Israeli strike in Syria". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ a b "Death toll update | 108 people, including 73 Syrian militiamen, killed in Israeli airstrikes on Palmyra - The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ a b "At least 36 killed in Israeli attack on Syria's Palmyra: State media". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ "Israeli attack on Syria's Palmyra kills 36 people, Syrian state media says". Reuters. 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Israeli strikes killed 71 pro-Iran fighters in Syria's Palmyra: Monitor". Al Arabiya English. 2024-11-21. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ Ward, Euan (20 November 2024). "U.S. Envoy Will Head to Israel, Citing Progress on Lebanon Cease-Fire". The New York Times.