Two Israeli airstrikes struck Damascus and its suburb Qudsaya on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 16, as reported by AP via SANA, coinciding with Iranian official Ali Larijani’s visit to the capital. Israel stated the strikes targeted Islamic Jihad’s infrastructure, allegedly involved in recent conflicts with Israel. These airstrikes reflect escalating tensions, especially given the Syrian regime’s claims of civilian casualties and property damage in Mazzeh and Qudsaya. Meanwhile, Syria TV and SANA reported further Israeli operations on Hezbollah’s smuggling routes in Al-Qusayr, impacting supply chains into Lebanon and emphasizing Israel’s broader campaign against Iranian influence in Syria. Iran, denying reports of force reductions in Syria, reaffirmed its presence through senior advisor Ali Asghar Haji. This came after Russia’s envoy Alexander Lavrentiev clarified that Moscow opposes Israeli actions in Syria and denied the use of Russia’s Khmeimim base for weapons transit to Hezbollah. The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington published a report highlighting U.S.-led sanctions’ unintended effects, reinforcing Iran’s foothold in Syria and increasing Gulf-U.S. policy divergences. The report outlines regional frustration over sanctions that have deepened Syria’s economic crisis without shifting political conditions. In a separate development, CNN reported UN concerns over Israel’s activities along the Golan Heights buffer zone, where IDF excavation has breached a demilitarized area. The UN’s warning underscores the risks these operations pose to the longstanding ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Syria, maintained since 1974.
2 Israeli airstrikes hit Syria’s capital and a suburb, killing 15 people, Syrian state media say
Israel carried out at least two airstrikes on a a western neighborhood of Damascus and one of the capital’s suburbs on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding another 16, AP reported.
AP quoted the news agency, SANA, said the airstrikes on the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus and the suburb of Qudsaya northwest of the capital struck two buildings. An Associated Press journalist at the scene in Mazzeh said that a five-story building was damaged by a missile that hit the basement.
The Israeli military said that it had hit infrastructure sites and command centers of the Islamic Jihad militant group in Syria, and had “inflicted significant damage to the terrorist organization’s command center and to its operatives.”
The airstrikes in Damascus and the nearby suburb came shortly before Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, was scheduled to meet in the Syrian capital with representatives of Palestinian factions at the Iranian Embassy in Mazzeh.
The Israeli military said that Islamic Jihad had participated alongside Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip, in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Israel strikes Hezbollah smuggling routes in Syria
On Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force targeted smuggling routes in Syria used by Hezbollah to transport weapons into Lebanon, jns.org reported.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the strike is part of a broader campaign in recent months aimed at reducing the flow of weapons from Iran to its terror proxy.
These strikes on Syrian smuggling routes specifically target Unit 4400, the Hezbollah unit responsible for arms smuggling.
“With the support of the Syrian regime, the Hezbollah terrorist organization continues to systematically abuse civilian infrastructure for its terrorist activities,” the military said. “The IDF will continue to operate in order to prevent Hezbollah’s buildup of weaponry, which endangers the civilians of Israel.”
Syrian state media reported explosions near Damascus and the central city of Homs on Thursday. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) stated that air defense systems were activated in response to a “hostile target” south of Homs. Later, the agency also reported a blast near Damascus.
Another explosion was reported in Damascus’s upscale Mezzeh area on Thursday, which is home to the Iranian embassy.
The alleged Israeli airstrike comes as Ali Larijan, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is visiting the Damascus for meetings with Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad.
Syrian state media reported several casualties with unconfirmed reports that it was a targeted killing.
On Wednesday evening, Syrian state media reported that Israeli Air Force fighter jets had conducted strikes in the Al-Qusayr area, close to Syria’s border with Lebanon.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based war monitor with links to the country’s opposition, reported that the strikes targeted bridges and military checkpoints in the border region.
The IAF carried out raids on Hezbollah targets in Al-Qusayr on Nov. 5, attacking munitions depots used by the Lebanon-based terrorist army.
Israeli jets intercepted two drones in Syrian airspace that were approaching Israeli territory “from the east” in two separate incidents a few hours apart overnight Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Sanctions on Syria: Iran’s Economic Gains and the Gulf-U.S. Divide
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington published a report, which highlights how U.S.-led sanctions on Syria have inadvertently strengthened Iran’s economic foothold in the country while creating a rift between the United States and its Gulf allies.
The report outlines how the U.S.’s Caesar Act and related sanctions, intended to pressure Syria’s Assad regime by restricting economic engagement, have deepened Syria’s humanitarian crisis without achieving the desired political changes. Today, 90% of Syrians live in poverty, with the Syrian pound severely depreciated and inflation among the highest globally.
Meanwhile, Iran has capitalized on the economic vacuum, investing in strategic sectors in Syria—such as oil, real estate, and transportation—to recover billions spent supporting the Assad regime. These investments, paired with Iran’s new zero-tariff trade deals and planned joint financial institutions with Syria, have cemented Tehran’s influence. The Syrian government, however, has shown resistance, wary that these arrangements benefit Iran more than Syria’s economy.
The report further highlights growing frustration among Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have faced barriers in reestablishing economic ties with Syria due to U.S. sanctions. These allies argue that the sanctions have primarily harmed Syrian civilians rather than the regime, and they are increasingly critical of Washington’s lack of a clear vision for Syria. The re-admission of Syria into the Arab League in May 2023 underscores a shift in regional dynamics, with key Gulf states advocating for Syria’s reintegration rather than isolation.
The report concludes that the United States risks further alienating its Gulf partners, whose strategies increasingly emphasize diplomatic engagement with Syria, signaling a significant shift in regional and geopolitical alignments.
Iran denies reducing its forces in Syria
Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that Tehran has not made any decisions to change the number of its forces in Syria in light of the tensions in the Middle East, according to an Enab Baladi report.
This was stated by the senior advisor to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Asghar Haji, in a statement to the Novosti agency today, Thursday, November 14.
Haji said, “The presence of our military advisors in Syria continues, and there are no decisions regarding changes in our number of troops and personnel in Syria so far; everything remains as it is.”
Haji added that Tehran will exercise “its right to defend itself whenever it deems it necessary,” in response to Israeli strikes on Iran.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statements about its military presence in Syria came in response to the Russian president’s envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, who said that Iran and its affiliated formations had reduced their presence on Syrian territory before the escalation of Israeli actions against Lebanon.
Lavrentiev, on November 13, denied that the Russian base “Khmeimim” in Syria was used to transport and supply Hezbollah with weapons in Lebanon.
He added that Russia continuously refuses to carry out Israeli airstrikes on sites belonging to Iranian forces inside Syria, indicating that the Russian Foreign and Defense Ministries have warned Israeli officials that these activities could lead to very serious consequences.
The Russian official emphasized that Israel’s desire for guarantees to prevent the potential transit of weapon shipments to Lebanon through Syria is not within the mandate of Russian military personnel.
Reuters reported, citing five informed sources, that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) withdrew its senior officers from Syria due to a series of Israeli strikes and will increasingly rely on allied militias to maintain its influence there.