A major airstrike in central Syria has left 61 people dead, including members of Hezbollah and Syrian forces, as tensions escalate over Iran's growing presence in the historic city of Palmyra, according to Syrian monitoring groups.
The death toll from Wednesday's unprecedented airstrike in the ancient city of Palmyra, central Syria, has climbed to 61, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The casualties included 33 Syrian nationals and among them four Hezbollah members. Three Iranian-backed militia positions were targeted in the operation, including a strategic weapons storage facility.
"The Iranian presence in Palmyra has become absolute," a Syrian journalist revealed. "Following the takeover by the Syrian regime and their Iranian allies years ago, the city has fallen under complete Iranian control through their proxy forces." He noted that the original residents of Palmyra remain displaced in regime-held areas of Damascus and Homs, while recent intelligence indicates new weapons shipments to the region.
Syria's Foreign Ministry issued a strong rebuke: "Syria condemns the barbaric attack on Palmyra city, which reflects the continuing Zionist crimes against regional countries and their peoples."
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes coincided with a high-level meeting between Iranian-backed militia commanders and leaders of Iraq's Al-Nujaba movement. The attack, reportedly carried out by Israeli warplanes approaching from the south, targeted three distinct locations – a weapons depot and a residential complex housing families of Iranian-backed personnel holding Iraqi or foreign citizenship.
Concurrent with these strikes, sirens blared across northern cities as Hezbollah launched projectiles, including at Nahariya, Acre, and neighboring areas. In Acre, a direct hit was reported near a kindergarten.
