The Killing of Two Senior Islamic Jihad Members in Israeli Attack on Damascus Confirmed

The Islamic Jihad group confirmed on Saturday, November 17, the killing of two of its senior members during an Israeli attack on Damascus on Thursday. According to a spokesperson for this Iranian proxy group, Rassoul Abou Eisa, the head of Islamic Jihad's foreign relations, and Abdulaziz Al-Minaawi, a member of the political bureau, were the two senior members killed in the Israeli attack on November 15. Syrian media reported that at least 15 people were killed and 16 others injured due to two Israeli airstrikes on two areas in Damascus, the capital of Syria, on Thursday. The Israeli army accepted responsibility for these attacks, stating that it targeted military buildings and Islamic Jihad headquarters. Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported two airstrikes on Damascus. According to this UK-based organization, a three-story building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus was targeted in one of the attacks. The organization monitoring developments in Syria added that in another attack, a residential building in the Qudsiyah neighborhood located in the suburbs of Damascus was hit, with loud explosion sounds heard. Mazzeh is home to embassies, United Nations offices, and security headquarters of the Syrian government and has previously been targeted by attacks attributed to Israel. The airstrikes on Thursday coincided with a visit by Ali Larijani, former Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and his accompanying delegation to the city. According to Iranian media, he met and discussed with high-ranking Syrian government officials, including Bashar al-Assad. Attacks attributed to Israel against the positions of the Islamic Republic and its proxy groups in Syria have been numerous in recent years. However, the intensity and frequency of these attacks have significantly increased since the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 of last year, followed by the onset and escalation of conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah. According to statistics from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, during this calendar year, 25 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, 55 members of Hezbollah, 85 Syrian militants supported by the Islamic Republic, and 25 non-Syrian militants supported by the Islamic Republic have been killed due to attacks attributed to Israel in Syria.