2024 Homs airstrikes | |
---|---|
Part of the Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war and the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) | |
Type | Missile strikes |
Location | |
Date | 7 February 2024 |
Executed by | Israeli Air Force |
Casualties | 10 killed |
On 7 February 2024, the Israeli Air Force launched missile attacks against a number of locations in Homs in central Syria, killing 10 people, including 6 civilians and 2 Hezbollah members. [1] The missile attacks took place after the US Air Force attacked locations in Iraq and Syria on 2 February 2024. [2]
Since the Israel–Gaza war began on 7 October 2023, there has been an escalation in Israeli attacks against Syria. Israel has consistently conducted missile attacks against locations it claims to be connected to Iran since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, rarely commenting on these actions. There has been an Iranian presence in Syria since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, with Iranian forces bolstering the government of President Bashar al-Assad against rebel forces. [3]
On 2 February 2024, the United States Air Force launched attacks against what it claimed were militia sites in Iraq and Syria, killing 45 people in after the Tower 22 drone strike that killed 3 US soldiers in Jordan. [3]
At 00:30 local time (UTC+3), Israel launched missile attacks against Homs from the direction of north of Tripoli in Lebanon, [4] [5] targeting Shayrat Airbase and other locations near the city of Homs and the countryside. [3] The missile attacks demolished a building in one of Homs' most affluent districts, as well as other locations allegedly linked to militias. There was damage to private and public property in the al-Malaab neighborhood and Hamra street, where at least nine explosions were heard. [2] [6] According to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, 10 people were killed, including 6 civilians and 2 Hezbollah members. Among the dead were 3 students, a woman and a child. [1] [2]
Syrian state media stated that the Syrian Air Defense Force intercepted and shot down Israeli missiles. [3] [4]
Kata'ib Hezbollah, also known as the Hezbollah Brigades, is a radical Iraqi Shia paramilitary group which is a part of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), staffing the 45th, 46th, and 47th Brigades. During the Iraq War (2003–11), the group fought against Coalition forces. It has been active in the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and the Syrian Civil War. The group was commanded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed in a US drone attack in 2020. Thereafter, Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi became the new leader of the PMF. The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region. The group is responsible for killing hundreds of U.S. soldiers and takes a central part in carrying out attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. Kata'ib Hezbollah has received extensive training, funding, logistic support, weapons, and intelligence from the IRGC's overseas military-intelligence service Quds Force.
The History of the Israel Air Force begins in May 1948, shortly after the formation of the State of Israel. Following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, its pre-state national institutions transformed into the agencies of a state, and on May 26, 1948, the Israeli Air Force was formed. Beginning with a small collection of light aircraft, the force soon transformed into a comprehensive fighting force. It has since participated in several wars and numerous engagements, becoming what has been described as "The mightiest air force in the Middle East".
The May 2013 Rif Dimashq airstrikes were a series of aerial attacks made on targets in Syria on 3 and 5 May 2013. The 3 May attack was on targets at Damascus International Airport. The 5 May attacks were on targets at Jamraya, and the Al-Dimas and Maysalun areas in Rif Dimashq. Although officially Israel neither confirmed nor denied its involvement, former Mossad director Danny Yatom and former government member Tzachi Hanegbi inferred Israel's involvement in the attack. Official Syrian sources denied any attack on its soil on 3 May, but did accuse Israel for the attacks on 5 May.
Several incidents have taken place on the Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line during the Syrian Civil War, straining the relations between the countries. The incidents are considered a spillover of the Quneitra Governorate clashes since 2012 and later incidents between Syrian Army and the rebels, ongoing on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan and the Golan Neutral Zone and the Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War. Through the incidents, which began in late 2012, as of mid-2014, one Israeli civilian was killed and at least 4 soldiers wounded; on the Syrian-controlled side, it is estimated that at least ten soldiers were killed, as well as two unidentified militants, who were identified near Ein Zivan on Golan Heights.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2015. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from September to December 2017. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war refers to the Iranian–Israeli standoff in and around Syria during the Syrian conflict. With increasing Iranian involvement in Syria from 2011 onwards, the conflict shifted from a proxy war into a direct confrontation by early 2018.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2021. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
Events in the year 2023 in Syria
A 14-month-long conflict between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets and artillery at Israeli positions following the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. The conflict escalated into a prolonged exchange of bombardments, leading to extensive displacement in Israel and Lebanon. The conflict, part of the broader Middle Eastern crisis that began with Hamas' attack, marked the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict since the 2006 Lebanon War.
Events in the year 2024 in Lebanon.
Events in the year 2024 in Syria.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war from January to October 2024. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The Middle Eastern crisis is a series of interrelated wars, conflicts, and heightened instability in the Middle East that began in 2023 after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. The 7 October attack came after a period of rising tensions and increased violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; the attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw about 250 more taken hostage. Israel responded by declaring war and embarking on an intensive bombing campaign, and later invasion, of the Gaza Strip as a part of the Israel–Hamas war that has so far killed over 46,000 Palestinians.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 24 November 2023, when the first ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, until 1 January 2024, one day prior to the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri.
This timeline of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict covers the period from 2 January 2024, with the Assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, until 31 March 2024, one day prior to the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The spillover of the Israel–Hamas war in Syria is the impact and military engagements in Syria which are caused by the spillover of the Israel–Hamas war, and constitute a part of the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis. The conflict, originating in the Gaza Strip, has triggered regional tensions and violence, drawing Syria in through direct and indirect confrontations involving Israeli defense forces, Syrian state actors, and armed groups operating in Syrian territory.
On 27 November 2024, a coalition of Syrian revolutionary factions called the Military Operations Command led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported by allied Turkish-backed groups in the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the Ba'athist regime's armed forces in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama Governorates in Syria. The operation was codenamed Deterrence of Aggression by HTS. This is the first time that opposition forces in the Syrian civil war launched a military offensive campaign since the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire.
The 2024 Homs offensive was a military operation launched by forces of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) and allied Turkish-backed rebel groups in the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) during the 2024 Syrian opposition offensive, a phase of the Syrian Civil War. The operation was launched by the Military Operations Command following its capture of Hama on 5 December 2024 during the 2024 Hama offensive. The offensive ended in the city being captured by opposition forces on the night of 7/8 December after government forces abandoned the city.