Evidence of Alleged Israeli Air Strike Near Damascus

Satellite photos released Monday night of damage wrought by a reported IDF attack on an Iranian military base outside Damascus, appeared to substantiate a number of Arabic media reports of an Israeli strike there last Friday.

The images, released by ImageSat International (ISI), show a number of buildings that were destroyed near the site’s probable headquarters and administrative buildings. ISI provided images of the structures before and after the attack. The images, dated November 16 and December 4, were produced by the company’s Eros-B satellite.

Israel would neither confirm nor deny the reports.

In addition, a Lebanese news network affiliated with Hezbollah claimed that Israel fired two Jericho 1 surface-to-surface missiles at the base, and that one of them was intercepted by the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system. This was also not confirmed.

According to foreign media reports, the Israeli fire was carried out from Lebanese airspace.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel will not allow Iran to establish a permanent presence in Syria, and was reported late last month to have sent a warning to this effect via a third party to Syrian President Bashar Assad.