At least 36 killed in Israeli attack on Syria’s Palmyra: State media

At least 36 people have been killed and 50 wounded in an Israeli attack that hit residential buildings in the Syrian city of Palmyra, Syrian state media report.

The air attack was launched from the direction of al-Tanf in eastern Syria and caused “significant material damage”, Syria’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Wednesday that was quoted by the state news agency SANA. Al-Tanf is an area near the Iraqi border controlled by the United States.

Since the Syrian war began in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.

But since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, it has ramped up its strikes in Syria as hostilities with the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have intensified.

Last week, the Israeli military said it had attacked transit routes on the Syrian-Lebanese border it said were used to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria but has repeatedly said it would not allow Iran to expand its presence in the country.

Syrian state media reported several Israeli attacks last week in Homs province, which borders Lebanon. Palmyra is located in Homs.

Palmyra is known for its ancient city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was seized by the ISIS (ISIL) armed group in 2015 and partially destroyed before it was recaptured by the Syrian army.

Lebanon ceasefire talks

The attack was carried out as US envoy Amos Hochstein is in the Middle East for talks on a potential ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and as Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group would not accept an agreement that violates Lebanese sovereignty.

In a recorded speech on Wednesday, Qassem said Hezbollah seeks a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression” and “the preservation of Lebanon’s sovereignty. … The Israeli enemy cannot enter [Lebanese territory] whenever it wants.”

“Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us,” he added.

Qassem also promised to retaliate against Israeli strikes on Beirut, saying the group would attack the “heart of Tel Aviv”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said after Qassem’s speech that any ceasefire must ensure Israel has the “freedom to act” against Hezbollah.

“In any agreement we will reach, we will need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations,” he told foreign ambassadors before Hochstein’s expected arrival in Israel.

“Secondly, we will have to enforce that they will not be able to build again their force in Lebanon, they will not be able to bring again ammunitions, missiles to manufacture it or to bring it from Iran through Syria by sea and through the airport [in Beirut] in any way,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hochstein said he had a second meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate, where “additional progress,” was made.

“So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can,” Hochstein said.

Israeli media reported that the US envoy arrived in the country late Wednesday.

Reporting from Amman, Jordan, as Israel banned Al Jazeera from reporting in the country and in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Hochstein is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss the proposal.

“It’s also worth mentioning that the Israelis have been speaking throughout the week, including Netanyahu himself, that even if there is a ceasefire deal in place, Israel is still going to do whatever it sees fit, and if it means violating that ceasefire agreement, they are going to do that,” Salhut explained.

“So it’s a little bit tough to tell what the Israeli reception will be [for Hochstein], but the US envoy is saying that they’re hoping to get this done before January, before the new administration in the United States takes over,” she added.

A US-proposed ceasefire is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires the Lebanese state to control its border with Israel and the Litani River, meaning Hezbollah should have no military presence near the frontier.

The UN resolution was used to end the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, but Israel has complained that Hezbollah remains armed at the border despite the agreement.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Israeli shelling and air strikes in southern Lebanon overnight and on Wednesday, saying Israeli forces were looking to advance farther into the town of Khiam.

Hezbollah said it launched drones at two Israeli military bases in northern Israel and fired rockets at the town of Safed.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health announced that since October 2023, 3,544 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 902 women and children.

The majority of them were killed during an Israeli offensive in September, the ministry said.

At the same time, Hezbollah strikes have killed 43 people in northern Israel, and 73 soldiers have been killed, the Israeli army said.

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