Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the Newsdesk at The Cradle, November 21, 2024
The death toll of the Israeli attack on central Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra a day ago shot up significantly on 21 November, with official Syrian media announcing 36 deaths and an opposition-linked war monitor reporting nearly 80.
According to UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 79 people were killed when Israeli jets struck the outskirts of Palmyra.
SOHR said on Thursday that 53 “Syrian members of Iranian-backed militias” were killed, as well as 22 non-Syrians – mostly from the Iraqi Nujaba resistance movement – and four from Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“At approximately 1:30 pm today, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of [US-occupied] Al-Tanf area, targeting a number of buildings in Palmyra City in the Syrian Desert, led to the martyrdom of 36 people, the injury of more than 50 others, and significant material damage to the buildings and the surrounding area,” said Syria’s official news outlet SANA.
Israeli jets bombarded the outskirts of Palmyra with violent airstrikes on 20 November. Several of the casualties were members of the Syrian army’s auxiliary forces, according to Sputnik.
The attack was launched from the airspace of the US’s Al-Tanf military base, where Washington is accused of housing and training extremist groups.
Israel has recently stepped up its violent and illegal campaign of airstrikes against Syria, particularly Syrian–Lebanese border crossings, which Tel Aviv says it is targeting to cut off the flow of weapons into Lebanon, where it is waging a brutal and deadly campaign.
“Once again Israeli airstrikes on Syria have increased significantly, both in frequency and scope. Just yesterday, we saw dozens killed in a strike near Palmyra – likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date,” said UN deputy special envoy to Syria Najat Rochdi.
The US has also reinforced its bases in the Syrian north, which it occupies with the help of its Kurdish proxy, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Six members of the SDF were killed on 21 November in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack, which targeted one of its military vehicles in the countryside of the eastern Deir Ezzor governorate. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The SDF has recently been embroiled in a bitter conflict with Syrian Arab tribes – who revolted against the US proxy last year and have since continued to clash with them sporadically.
