Reports emerged that a residential building in Damascus, the capital of Syria, was struck in what sources described as an Israeli attack. The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, carried the initial account, though the specific news page referenced in the report did not exist at the time the material was published.
According to SANA, a residential block in Damascus’s Al-Mezza district was hit, with the agency stating that the strike appeared to be an act of Israeli aggression. In the morning hours of January 20, residents reported explosions across Damascus. A follow-up SANA dispatch suggested that numerous individuals, including Iranian advisors, were killed in what it termed an Israeli assault.
Reports framed the incident as an attack that targeted four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel stationed in Syria, groups known to support Hamas, the Palestinian faction involved in the October 7, 2023, cross-border conflict with Israel. Reuters cited information pointing to the involvement of one of the IRGC officials who leads the force’s information unit in Syria.
Conversely, AFP quoted another account noting five fatalities as a result of the strike. Imam Al-Emine, director of Al-Muwasat Hospital in Damascus, indicated that one person died and three were injured, including a woman who was hospitalized. Other sources corroborated the claim that the four-story building was completely destroyed and that it housed Iranian advisors affiliated with the Syrian government.
Sources speaking to Reuters described the building as a site used by Iranian contributors who support the Syrian administration. Sputnik Abkhazia reported that the residence lay near the Abkhaz embassy in a district hosting numerous foreign diplomatic missions; at the time, embassy personnel were present, but there were no reported injuries.
Following the attack, social media in Israel circulated unverified claims that Ziyad al-Nahala, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, had died. Inquiries from İhsan Ataya, a Politburo member of the group reported by RIA News, dismissed these assertions as false. Ismail al-Sandavi, the organization’s Syrian representative, and Sham FM radio both indicated that the attacked house was not the Islamic Jihad headquarters, and the radio emphasized the absence of confirmation about the leader’s status.
Israel has not issued an official comment regarding the reports of the attack.
Missiles in Syria
The Israeli military frequently conducts strikes inside Syrian territory. SANA reported that on January 2 the Israeli Defense Forces fired a rocket from the Golan Heights toward Damascus suburbs in what was described as retaliation for missiles launched from Syria. On January 8 the IDF announced the elimination of a Hamas member in Syria who had been responsible for rocket fire into Israel.
On December 29, 2023, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted an attack on Syrian air defense positions in the southern province of Suwayda, with a missile reportedly passing near Damascus International Airport. Al Arabiya TV later reported that eleven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards died in alleged strikes on the capital’s airport.
Monitoring groups recorded a total of 73 Israeli attacks on Syrian territory during 2023, resulting in the deaths of about 120 soldiers and injuries to roughly 136 others. By year’s end, Syria’s Foreign Ministry urged that Israel not evade accountability for the strikes.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the ongoing assaults on Syria, calling them a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and international law. In late November 2023 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution urging Israel to reset the status of the Golan Heights, and by early January two Russian military police posts had been established in the area.
Neighboring Jordan also criticized Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip as part of broader regional tensions. In mid-January, an attack in the Suwayda province wounded several people, including women and children. Jordanian authorities cited reports of Syrian drones carrying drugs en route to Jordan as a factor behind their decision to respond. Iran’s involvement was noted as well, with Tehran reportedly launching missiles into Syrian territory, and some of those strikes extending to neighboring Iraq.
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