DAMASCUS: United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen on Saturday urged Israel to immediately stop its attacks on Syria, after strikes including one near Damascus's presidential palace, which followed sectarian violence this week. "I strongly condemn Israel's continued and escalating violations of Syria's sovereignty, including multiple air strikes in Damascus and other cities," Pedersen said in a post on X, calling "for these attacks to cease at once". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 20 strikes hit military targets across Syria late on Friday, in the "heaviest" assault carried out by Israel on its neighbour this year.
Syria's state news agency SANA reported strikes near Damascus and in the country's centre, west and south, saying one civilian was killed. An Israeli military statement said its forces "struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria", but gave no further details. The barrage followed an Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz called a "clear message" to Syria's new rulers. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
