Israeli air raids and troop landing near Damascus, the second attack within 24 hours

Israeli aircraft carried out air raids and an airdrop operation on Wednesday evening, targeting Jabal al-Manea in the Al-Kiswah area of rural Damascus. The strikes were followed by loud explosions, marking the second such attack within 24 hours amid ongoing daily incursions into areas and towns in southern Syria.

Syrian media reported that more than nine Israeli raids struck sites and vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Defence, with no confirmed details yet on the scale of the damage.

According to Syrian reports, Israeli forces carried out an airdrop in Al-Kiswah, alongside heavy helicopter, fighter jet and reconnaissance aircraft activity in the area. Other sources also reported Israeli helicopters landing in Sweida, southern Syria.

Reuters quoted two Syrian army sources as saying that an Israeli unit conducted an airdrop on a strategic highland area in the Damascus countryside. The operation reportedly lasted two hours before the forces withdrew.

The sources added that the landing took place near Jabal al-Manea, which was once the site of a major air defence base operated by Iran before it was destroyed by Israel prior to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Syrian army forces are currently stationed at the site.

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