Syria Under Siege: Israel Launches Devastating Strikes Amid Escalating Tensions

Joe Biden believes the killing of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was justified. Netanyahu wants to continue to persecute Israel’s enemies. All developments in the news blog.

11:05 pm: There are reports of Israeli attacks from Syria. According to reports that have not yet been officially confirmed, air defenses have been activated in Homs. Images showing Syrian defense missiles were shared on social networks. Explosions could be heard on videos. Sky News Arabia reported that an Israeli drone had been spotted near Damascus. Israeli fighter jets reportedly destroyed a house near the city that was used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah, he said.

9:47 pm: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees his country at a “historic turning point” after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. With the air strike on Nasrallah, Israel retaliated for the actions of the pro-Iranian militia, Netanyahu said in a televised speech on Saturday night.

“We have settled accounts with the person responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French people,” he said. In 1983, almost 300 US and French soldiers were killed in a double attack by Hezbollah in Beirut.

Israel has now reached a “historic turning point” in the fight against its enemies, Netanyahu added. Israel is determined to continue this fight.

8:48 pm: The Minister of Defense of Israel, Joaw Gallant, is holding discussions about a possible expansion of the military attack in the north of the country. A corresponding assessment of the situation continues, his office explains.

6:50 pm: US President Joe Biden has described Israel’s attack on Hezbollah’s alleged headquarters and the killing of terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah as “a measure of justice”.

Nasrallah and Hezbollah are responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans. The United States continued to “fully support” Israel’s right “to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and all other terrorist groups supported by Iran.”

Biden directed US Defense Secretary Austin to improve the defense readiness of US troops in the region to reduce the risk of a major regional war.

5:01 pm: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expressed concern about the situation in the region after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Israel. “There is a threat of destabilizing the whole of Lebanon, and that is in no way in the interest of Israel’s security,” said Baerbock in the ARD’s “Berlin Report”. “The situation is extremely dangerous. There is a risk that this whole region will slide further into an absolute spiral of violence.”

Baerbock noted that Germany, together with the USA, France and several Arab states, presented a proposal for an immediate three-week ceasefire on Thursday on the sidelines of the general debate of the United Nations in New York. The aim was to prevent further deterioration. “The opposite has happened now,” Baerbock said on the ARD show.

2:44 pm: The Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s alleged headquarters has apparently suffered more than just Lebanese victims. As various pro-government Iranian Telegram channels report, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan is said to have died in the attack on Friday night.

Nilforoushan was the deputy commander for operations of Iran’s so-called Revolutionary Guard. He was also one of the acting commanders of the Quds Brigade, Iran’s elite force in Syria and Lebanon.