Two Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Southern Syria

Reuters reported early Thursday, citing Syrian state media, that two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Syria. It was reported that a soldier was also injured in the attack. According to the report, a military source stated that Israel attacked several areas in southern Syria around 11:40 PM local time on Wednesday from the Golan Heights, and the Syrian 'air defense' intercepted several Israeli missiles. Over the past years, Israel has repeatedly targeted the positions of the Quds Force of the IRGC and Iran-affiliated groups in Syria but has rarely commented on these attacks. Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, attacks attributed to Israel against the positions of the Islamic Republic and its affiliated groups in the region have intensified. In one of the deadliest of these attacks, on April 1 of this year, the Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus was targeted, resulting in the deaths of several high-ranking IRGC members, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC (the Quds Force branch in Syria and Lebanon), Hossein Aminollah, chief of staff of the Quds Force of the IRGC, and Haj Rahimi, 'Zahedi's deputy.' In an unprecedented move in response to this deadly attack, the Islamic Republic fired over 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and suicide drones towards Israel, most of which were intercepted before entering Israeli airspace by a coalition consisting of the United States, Britain, France, Jordan, and Israel. The U.S. representative at the United Nations called for the Assad regime to cooperate in providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. Three Iran-affiliated militants were killed at the Syria-Iraq border in response to the killing of a Quds Force member in an attack attributed to Israel in Aleppo; the IRGC commander promised a 'response.'