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BREAKING: Israel Assassinates Palestinian Jihad Leader, Kills Syrian Civilians

Israel kills an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza and strikes Damascus, hitting a residential building.

BREAKING: Israel Assassinates Palestinian Jihad Leader, Kills Syrian Civilians
Smoke and flames rising from a five-story building in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike. (Ali Jadallah / Anadolu Agency / Getty)
By Ryan Lau

Shortly before 10 p.m. Monday night, an Israeli airstrike reportedly struck a residential building in Syria. This is not the first time that Israel, officially neutral in the Syrian Civil War (though they oppose Iran’s presence in the country), has struck Syria. At approximately the same time, another Israeli bomb struck the house of Bahaa Abu al-Atta, leader of Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of terrorist cell Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The blast killed him and his wife, injuring three others.

In Gaza, PIJ has declared that they will retaliate strongly following the death of their leader. They claim their action will “shake the Zionist entity to its core“.

Home Front Command, an Israeli defense force, has announced that for public safety, schools and many workplaces will close on Tuesday in Gaza and the surrounding region.

Israel Targets PIJ in Damascus

This missile is just one of several that the nation has fired toward Syria’s capital city Monday night. Syrian air defense was successfully able to shoot down a missile over Darayya, a district in southern Damascus. Reports of at least one explosion have also come out of Al-Mazza, a district in the southwest region of the city.

Syrian State TV has reported that one of the strikes hit Al-Mazza Airbase in Damascus. Another independent journalist has revealed video footage of the aftermath of what he purports to be a residential building targeted by an Israeli missile. The bombing has led to casualties and injuries, with initial reports estimating two dead and six more wounded. The attacked building reportedly is near the Lebanese Embassy.

Footage has shown a large portion of the building aflame and Syrians battling the blaze.

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