Casualties confirmed as Israel intensifies its attacks on Syria amid growing local pressure on Damascus to confront the Tel Aviv regime and cease the killings.
At least five people were killed in Israeli shelling on Tuesday in western Daraa province in southern Syria, local authorities have confirmed.
In a statement, the Daraa governor’s office said several people were also injured, including a woman, when Israeli forces staged an incursion in the town of Koya in western Daraa followed by artillery shelling.
“The attack has caused a state of panic among citizens as Israeli reconnaissance planes flew over the area,” the statement said.
Last week, Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes in Daraa, killing at least four people and injuring 19 others, including women and children.
The Israeli army has also claimed responsibility for a Tuesday attack on two military bases in central Syria.
A military statement said that the attack on the airbases of Palmyra and T-4 aimed to eliminate “remaining military capabilities.”
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
The army, however, did not provide any details about the cause of the attack on the sites which Israel has already struck days earlier on March 21.
There was no immediate comment from the Syria authorities on the Israeli assault.
On Monday during a visit to Jerusalem, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon were threatening to worsen the situation.
“Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation,” Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
“We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel,” Kallas told journalists.
After the fall of the former dictator of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.
Israel also launched hundreds of airstrikes that targeted military sites and assets across Syria, including fighter jets, missile systems, and air defence installations, according to reports.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on December 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the largest anti-regime group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was declared president for a transitional period in late January 2025.
Since Israel began attacking Syria, protests have been witnessed across the country urging that the new leadership takes firmer action to confront Israeli aggression.
However, the new government in Damascus has largely refrained from the Israel issue amid attempts to reestablish positive relations with Europe and America to end sanctions.
