By Abimbola Ogunnaike with agency report
No fewer than five people were killed on Sunday, 19 February, 2023 when Israel launched a fresh missile attack on the Syrian capital Damascus and areas around it.
Syria’s health ministry said five people died in the strike, including one soldier, while fifteen others were wounded, some of whom in critical condition.
According to Syria’s official SANA news agency, the country’s air defenses responded to Israel’s new missile attack, which took place early Sunday, intercepting most of those missiles.
Following the attack, SANA said, the Israeli missiles hit a number of residential buildings mostly in Kafr Sousa neighborhood in central Damascus.
Meanwhile, al-Mayadeen news agency reported that the Israeli strike hit areas in Damascus countryside, Kafr Sousa neighborhood, and Tal al-Masih near the city of Shahba, north of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria.
A Syrian military source was quoted by SANA as saying that the Israeli missiles were fired from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting some locations in Damascus and its suburbs, including residential neighborhoods inhabited by civilians. The source said most of the Israeli missiles were shot down by Syria’s air defenses.
A Syrian security source was also quoted by SANA as confirming that the country’s air defenses had shot down most of the Israeli missiles before they reached their target.
The source added that technical and engineering teams were assessing the damage caused by the new Israeli act of aggression
