Report: Israel warns Syrian leader his palace could be targeted

Israel reportedly warned Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad that one of his palaces would be targeted in airstrikes if he continued to allow Iranian weapon transfers through his country.

According to Elaph News, a senior Israeli official said that Israel is preparing for operations deep inside Syria, without informing Russia. The source noted, though, that Russia knew of the string of Israeli-attributed air raids in the past month.

Last week, Syria said an alleged Israeli airstrike on Friday caused “significant” damage to the Damascus International Airport in Syria’s capital city. All flights were suspended due to damaged infrastructure that rendered the main runway unserviceable. 

Israel Hayom reported that the latest airstrike was an Israeli effort to pressure Assad to take a firmer stance against Iran’s use of Syrian infrastructure to smuggle weapons to proxies, including the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Friday’s strike hit three arms depots near Damascus airport belonging to Hezbollah, as well as other Iran-backed groups.

Israel regularly conducts aerial raids in Syria, typically against Iranian entrenchment on its northern border and weapon convoys; however, Israeli leadership rarely comments on specific incidents.     

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned “the latest Israeli provocation” in Syria: "The continued Israeli bombardment of Syrian territory, in violation of fundamental norms of international law, is unacceptable.”