Explosions hit Syrian capital – local media
Explosions have hit Damascus, the Syrian capital, according to local reports.
There were also “plumes of smoke” seen across different sites in the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Videos, which the BBC has not verified, showed a large cloud of smoke and buildings destroyed.
It comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East since the Israel-Gaza war. There were reports of casualties in the explosion, which is understood to have taken place the Mazzeh neighbourhood, south-west Damascus. The Mazzeh area is home to a military airport, as well as the UN headquarters in Damascus, embassies and restaurants.
A resident told AFP news agency that they saw “explosions” in the western Mazzeh area and “a large cloud of smoke”. “The sound was similar to a missile explosion, and minutes later I heard the sound of ambulances,” he added.
The Middle East has been on heightened alert since 7 October, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,300 people, mainly civilians, and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza. More than 132 hostages are thought to still be held in the territory.
More than 24,900 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel says its ground and air operation in Gaza is aimed at destroying Hamas.
The conflict has raised concerns about a wider war spreading around the region, particularly between fierce rivals Israel and Iran. Tehran has a host of supportive groups operating in the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. It also supports groups in Iraq and Syria.
Last month a suspected Israeli air strike just outside Damascus killed a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
(BBC)
