Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: A Hezbollah Commander and Four Militants Killed in Deir ez-Zor

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the death of a Hezbollah commander and four other militia fighters in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Earlier on Tuesday, March 19, the organization had reported the presence of unidentified drones over the area and three explosions in the outskirts of the city of Al-Mayadeen, referred to as the 'capital of Iranian militias in Syria.' Prior to this, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that Israel had attacked several military targets outside Damascus, the capital of the country, on Tuesday. According to Reuters, the ministry stated that air defenses 'intercepted Israeli missiles and shot down several of them,' resulting only in material damage. Two Syrian military sources reported that Israel targeted a Hezbollah ammunition depot near the city of Yabrud, which is located in the Rif Dimashq province, approximately 80 kilometers north of Damascus. This is the second attack attributed to Israel on Hezbollah positions in Syria within two days. The attack is part of a broader campaign targeting Hezbollah's logistical routes in the mountainous region that extends into Lebanon. A Western intelligence source indicated that another attack occurred near Qatana, about 40 kilometers east of Damascus, in an area with a significant Hezbollah presence. An anonymous source told Reuters, 'Recent attacks clearly target Hezbollah's infrastructure in Syria, particularly its complex fortifications along the Lebanon-Syria border.' Western and regional intelligence sources report that Israeli attacks in Syria have resulted in the deaths of many Hezbollah fighters and Iranian-backed militants in the eastern outskirts of Damascus and southern and southeastern Syria. These attacks have focused around the Al-Bukamal border crossing in Deir ez-Zor province, a major logistical route for Iraqi Shiite militants entering and exiting Syria. Syrian and Western intelligence sources indicate that Israel has intensified its missile attacks on the Zainabiyah neighborhood in Damascus, where senior militia commanders are present. In recent weeks, at least six members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, mostly in the Zainabiyah area, along with several Hezbollah fighters, have been killed in these attacks. Hezbollah claims that at least 20 of its militants have been killed in Syria following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.