Syria reports new Israeli airstrikes following explosion on Israeli ship in the Gulf

Syria reported Israeli airstrikes in the country on Sunday. The strike may have been in retaliation for an attack on an Israeli ship in the Gulf and followed US airstrikes in Syria.

The Syrian state-run SANA news outlet reported “Israeli missile aggression” targeted “posts” late Sunday night near Damascus. SANA claimed that Syrian air defenses intercepted most of the missiles, which came from the Golan Heights. Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the United Nations on Monday to condemn the suspected Israeli airstrikes.

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that the missiles were fired at Iranian targets in response to the apparent attack on an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Oman. On Friday, an explosion occurred aboard the Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray while it was sailing in the strategic waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being behind the attack. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied responsibility.

SANA and Syrian opposition media regularly report Israeli missile strikes against Syrian and Iranian targets throughout the country. Israel does not confirm its military actions abroad, but Israel leaders have hinted that they are responsible for such strikes in the past.

The last suspected Israeli airstrikes took place in southern Syria earlier this month.

The airstrike also followed the United States hitting Iran-backed militia targets in eastern Syria on Thursday. The Biden administration approved the bombing of Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada — Iraqi militias supported by Tehran — in response to recent attacks on US forces in neighboring Iraq.