Israel-Hamas War: Latest News – New York Times

The Israeli military declined to comment on the attack, but four Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to sensitive intelligence issues, confirmed that Israel carried out the attack.

The secret war has previously included Israel’s targeted assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, as well as the use of foreign proxies to advance Iran’s interests. Tensions between Israel and Hamas, an Iranian-backed militia in the Gaza Strip, have escalated since they went to war in October, with more and more open fighting now taking place.

The attack in Damascus killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, 65, a senior commander in the Quds Force. According to Iranian officials, General Zahedi oversaw the Quds Force’s covert military operations in Syria and Lebanon.

The airstrike targeted General Mohammad Hadi Hadji Rahimi, deputy commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria and second in command to General Zahedi, and Hossein Hossein, the head of the Quds Force’s military operations in the region. General Aman Alahi was also declared dead. In response to official statements from Iranian media and the Guard.

“Israel and Iran have been engaged in what is commonly referred to as a ‘shadow war’ for years,” Ali Baez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, said in a social media post on Monday. . “Today’s strike underscores the fact that this is increasingly a misnomer as tensions rise on multiple fronts.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Qanani said Iran was still investigating the scope of the attack, but threatened that there would be repercussions for Israel. “Iran will decide how to respond and punish the aggressor, in addition to having the right to retaliate in kind,” Qanani said.

Syrian and Iranian state news agencies reported that at least seven people were killed in Monday’s airstrike and showed footage of abandoned buildings, burned car wreckage, broken glass and debris covering the ground.

Two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said the attack targeted a secret meeting between Iranian intelligence officials and Palestinian militants to discuss the Gaza war. Among them were leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is armed and funded by Iran.

Israel and Iran differ in their descriptions of the buildings that were attacked. Iran said it was part of a diplomatic mission in Syria, but Israel said it was being used by the Revolutionary Guards and was a legitimate military target.

“This is not a consulate or an embassy,” Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari told CNN. “This is a military building of the Quds Force disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.”

“Targeting diplomatic facilities is the same as targeting Iran on its own territory,” said Baez, the analyst. He said that not retaliating would undermine Iran’s military presence in Syria, but “if it does, it will fall into a trap that Israel appears to have laid to go directly into war.” said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian strongly condemned the attack in a statement, saying he had spoken with his Syrian counterpart about the “attack by the Zionist regime on the consular part of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Damascus.”

According to the Syrian Defense Ministry, the attack occurred at around 5pm local time as Israeli warplanes entered Syria from the Golan Heights.

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari said in a statement released to state media that the consulate building was attacked by two F-35 fighter jets. Akbari said those killed included several Iranian military advisers who had been sent to Syria.

“We will strongly oppose this attack,” he said, according to Iranian media.

The attack rattled Iranian government supporters, who took to social media to ask again how Israel knew about the secret talks and whether informants had infiltrated Iran’s security services. questioned.

Peyman Said Taheri, a conservative analyst close to the government, said in an interview from Tehran that Israel’s attack on Damascus had upset Iranians who fear the government’s approach to conflict with Israel has failed. Stated.

“Our national security has been violated. Iran must respond to prevent Israel from attacking us in Tehran, and if it does not want to respond, it must reconsider its regional policy and military presence. , we need to ease it,” Taheri said.