Middle East crisis: Two dead after Israeli air strikes in Syria and Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force has again attacked targets in neighboring Syria and Lebanon . According to eyewitnesses, at least five air strikes were carried out on military targets south of the Syrian capital Damascus, where fighter jets and explosions were heard. A representative of the southern province of Daraa said that Israeli fighter jets had also attacked several Syrian army military installations there.

After the fall of the government of ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel largely destroyed the military capabilities of the Assad government in hundreds of attacks. Since the beginning of the year, Israel has attacked 16 times on Syrian territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Among other things, weapons depots and military command centers were destroyed.

A spokesman for Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the attack. "The air force is carrying out heavy attacks in southern Syria as part of the new policy we have defined to pacify southern Syria - and the message is clear: We will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at the weekend that Israel would not tolerate any military presence of the new rulers in Syria in the south of the country.

Since the fall of the Assad government, the Israeli army has significantly increased its military activities on Syrian territory. According to the Observatory, it penetrated villages in western Qunaitra near the occupied Golan Heights. Israeli army vehicles and checkpoints appeared in the area. In the evening, there were reports that Israeli tanks and armored vehicles had also been sighted in Daraa province.

Syria's new President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his interim government are demanding Israel's immediate withdrawal. The country justifies its military action on Syrian territory near the occupied Golan Heights by targeting weapons depots and supply routes that are said to be used by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

According to reports from Lebanon, Israel also attacked the border area with Syria. Two people were killed in the drone attack, the state agency NNA reported.