Explosions rocked the Dummar and Qudsaya districts of Damascus, the capital city of Syria, during the early hours of Sunday. As of the time of this report, official media sources have not yet disclosed the causes behind these successive explosions.
The Syrian state news agency, SANA, acknowledged the sounds of explosions that occurred in Damascus during dawn on Sunday, but these reports are still in the process of verification.
Contrary to the regime’s media outlets, various sources reported not only the sounds of explosions but also attributed them to Israeli involvement. The Russian news agency Sputnik quoted an unnamed high-ranking security source who claimed that Israeli aircraft had launched a barrage of missiles from occupied territories toward the outskirts of Damascus.
The report mentioned that the majority of the incoming enemy missiles were intercepted by Syria’s Air Defense Force, thereby preventing their intended targets from being hit. Technical and engineering teams within the Syrian army were dispatched to evaluate the extent of damage caused by the attack, with an official announcement expected to follow.
Israeli media, relying on references to official Syrian media, solely reported the explosions in Damascus without delving into the underlying causes.
Reports from the local news website Sawt al-Asima indicated that the Israeli shelling led to fires breaking out at several locations around Damascus.
The SAM account, specializing in monitoring military activities in Syria, posted on Tijlram that expectations of such shelling had been present for four days prior, though specific reasons for the explosions were not detailed.
It’s noteworthy that Israel typically refrains from publicly acknowledging its responsibility for the recurrent bombardment of Syrian territory, with the information often limited to state media aligned with the Syrian regime.
At the time of writing, regime-controlled media had not disclosed the extent of damage resulting from the explosions.
Notably, on August 7th, a prior incident occurred where Syrian regime forces suffered casualties—four soldiers killed and four wounded—due to Israeli strikes on military installations near Damascus. The regime’s Ministry of Defense attributed these casualties and material losses to an “Israeli air aggression” targeting points around the capital.
In a rare acknowledgment toward the end of 2022, Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi confirmed that during that period, Israel had targeted an arms shipment on the Syrian-Iraqi border, asserting that the shipment contained anti-aircraft missiles.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
