The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched an airstrike on a command center of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the center was used to “plan and direct terrorist activities” against Israel.
“The IAF conducted an intelligence-based strike on a terrorist command center belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization in Damascus. The command center was used to plan and direct terrorist activities by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad against the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a post on X.
Casualties and Reactions
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack, carried out with two missiles, resulted in at least one fatality, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, defended the attack, stating, “Israel will not allow Syria to become a threat to the state of Israel. There will be no immunity for Islamic terrorism against Israel—whether in Damascus or anywhere else.”
UN Accusations Against Israel
Meanwhile, the UN Commission of Inquiry accused Israel of targeting reproductive healthcare facilities in Gaza. The commission reported that Israel had “intentionally attacked and destroyed” the Palestinian territory’s main fertility center while imposing a siege that blocked medical aid, including supplies necessary for safe pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care.
According to the UN, Israeli forces have systematically destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare in Gaza, impacting the fertility of Palestinians. The inquiry classified these actions under two categories of genocidal acts:
- “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”
- “Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
Commission chair Navi Pillay stated, “These violations have not only caused severe immediate physical and mental harm and suffering to women and girls but have also led to irreversible long-term effects on the reproductive and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a group.”
Israel has “categorically rejected” the allegations, according to its mission in Geneva.
