Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian city of Palmyra killed 71 pro-Iranian militants, including fighters from Iraq and Lebanon, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The strikes, carried out on Wednesday, targeted three sites in the city, including one where a meeting was taking place between pro-Iranian group leaders and members of Iraq’s Al-Nujaba movement and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The casualties included 45 fighters from pro-Iranian Syrian groups and 26 foreign fighters, primarily from Al-Nujaba and Hezbollah. Syria’s defense ministry reported that 36 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in the strikes.
“The Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the Al-Tanf area, targeting several buildings in the city of Palmyra,” said the ministry in a statement.
These strikes are the deadliest in Syria since cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensified in late September. Israel has consistently stated that it will not tolerate Iran’s military expansion in Syria, though it rarely comments on specific operations.
The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it a “brutal Israeli aggression” and accusing Israel of continuing “Zionist crimes against the countries of the region and their peoples.”
Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its ancient Greco-Roman ruins, has been targeted repeatedly during the Syrian civil war. However, Nazir Awad, director general of Antiquities and Museums in Syria, confirmed that the city’s temples suffered no direct damage in the recent strikes, pending further assessment on the ground.