At least 15 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Damascus
Israel has stepped up attacks on Iran-linked targets in Syria since launching its war on Gaza last year.
At least 15 people were killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Damascus, Syrian state media reported.
"The Israeli enemy launched air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, targeting residential buildings in the Mazeh neighborhood of Damascus and the Qudsay area in the suburbs of Damascus, killing 15 people and wounding 16 others," Syrian officials said. Thursday, adding that the death toll could rise.
The Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes targeting several buildings and command centers belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group.
The strikes are a "significant blow" to the Gaza-based group and its operatives, the Israeli military said in a statement on Telegram.
An official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group told the Associated Press news agency that the attack in Mazeh targeted one of the group's offices and that several members of the group were killed.
"Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a group based in Gaza that participated alongside Hamas in the attacks on Israel on October 7 last year," said Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Beirut.
"Over the past several weeks, there has been an escalation in Israel targeting Hezbollah-related infrastructure and targets in Syria. "Of course, this is the first time in a long time that he has been targeted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," he added.
Israel has carried out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, but has stepped up such attacks since the October 7 attack on Israel last year by the Palestinian group Hamas. Since then, Israel has killed at least 43.736 people and wounded 103.370 in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
Commanders of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, based in Syria, live in Maze, according to residents who fled after recent attacks that killed some key figures from the groups.
"Israel has been trying to break Hezbollah's armed lines for the last few weeks. "This attack doesn't necessarily seem related to that, but this attack again highlights Israel's reach," Stratford said.
