Israeli Airstrike on 'Iranian Weapons and Ammunition Depot' Near Damascus

In the early hours of Thursday, April 26, the Israeli army targeted a weapons and ammunition depot near Damascus International Airport, the capital of Syria. Reuters identifies this depot as belonging to Iran. According to an unnamed 'regional intelligence official' cited by Reuters, the weapons and ammunition depot located near Damascus Airport was under the supervision of Hezbollah forces from Lebanon. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, citing its sources in the Syrian opposition, reports that a total of 'five attacks' were carried out targeting this depot, which is situated 25 kilometers from the city of Damascus. AFP, quoting Hezbollah's Al-Manar television, describes the 'likely' cause of the 'large' explosion on Thursday as an 'Israeli airstrike.' Al-Manar identified the target of the attack as 'a depot and fuel tanks,' but did not specify to which group they belonged. Al Jazeera also reported that Israeli Army Radio published statements from the Israeli Minister of Information confirming the execution of these attacks. Israel Katz, the Israeli Minister of Information, currently in the United States, stated that the recent attacks were in line with 'Israel's policy to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons by Iran for Hezbollah.' The Israeli minister did not provide further details, and according to Al Jazeera, the spokesperson for the Israeli army also refrained from elaborating on the matter. On the other hand, as Reuters reported, the depot targeted early Thursday is the final destination for a 'significant portion' of the weapons and ammunition that Iran sends to Syria 'via passenger and military aircraft.' So far, officials from the Islamic Republic and the Syrian government have not reacted to this incident. Throughout the Syrian civil war, which continues after six years, several reports of Israeli attacks on depots and forces of Hezbollah and Iran have been published, with Israel never clearly taking responsibility for these attacks. For instance, in January 2015, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that one of its commanders was killed in an attack by 'an Israeli helicopter' in the Quneitra region of Syria. A day earlier, Hezbollah had announced that one commander and five members of the group were killed in an Israeli helicopter attack in the Golan Heights. In this context, the Israeli ambassador to Russia had previously threatened that if Iran or Iranian proxy groups in the region sought to establish a 'second front' against Israel from the Golan Heights in Syrian territory, Israel would act 'without delay' against them.