As of Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR) has documented 37 attacks by Israel on the country since the beginning of the year.
Qatar has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s attack on the Syrian town of Koya, west of Daraa, which killed at least seven civilians and wounded several others as part of a surge in attacks on the area.
In a statement on Tuesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry slammed the latest Israeli air strike as “a dangerous escalation and a blatant violation of international law”. The Gulf state has also reiterated its support for Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns that the ongoing assaults by the occupation on Syria and Lebanon, alongside its continued brutal war on Gaza, threaten to escalate violence in the region,” the statement said, calling for international action to exert pressure on Israel.
Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel carried out “heavy artillery and air bombardment” that targeted residential areas, as reports pointed to hundreds fleeing the area.
“This escalation comes in the context of a series of violations that started with Israeli forces’ penetrating into Quneitra and Daraa provinces, in an ongoing aggression on Syrian territory, in flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.
Israel claimed it carried out the deadly bombardment after it “identified several terrorists who opened fire towards them in southern Syria”, a justification it frequently uses to defend its attacks, as seen in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Dozens of Israeli attacks on Syria
On Monday, Israeli occupation forces had also entered the western Daraa countryside in violation of Syria’s territorial integrity.
Daraa governor, Anwar Al-Zoabi, said that Israel’s repeated attacks “pushed a group of residents to clash with a military force that” attempted to enter Koya, resulting in an escalation.
Last week, Israel carried out air strikes on Daraa, which killed four people and wounded at least 19 others, including children.
Israel has carried out numerous attacks on Syria especially since it launched the brutal war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
As of Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR) has documented 37 attacks since the beginning of the year, including 17 in March, which resulted in the killing of at least 17 people.
