Fresh Israeli missile attack hits Damascus int'l airport

A fresh Israeli missile hit the runway of Damascus International Airport on Sunday, rendering it out of service just a day after damage from a previous Israeli strike was repaired, the Syrian Sham FM radio said, reported Xinhua.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the attack came 30 hours after the airport, located in the south of the capital, resumed its operation after more than a month of suspension due to an earlier Israeli strike, which has killed two workers at the airport.

The Damascus-bond flights have been diverted to the airports in the cities of Latakia and Aleppo in northern Syria.

Meanwhile, smoke was seen rising from the al-Mazzeh and Muadamiyeh areas in the west of Damascus, with reports saying that another Israeli strike hit the vicinity of the al-Mazzeh military air base, the Britain-based observatory said.

The Israeli attacks on Syrian airports have intensified since the Israeli-Hamas conflict started on Oct. 7. Airports in Damascus and Aleppo were hit several times. Notably, Israel has shown a pattern of targeting Syrian airports once reparations from previous strikes are completed.

Reports said the move is aiming at preventing Syria from providing supplies to Lebanon, a longtime foe of Israel, via airplanes, complicating the current conflict Israel is fighting.