At least 2 dead as Israeli jets strike south of Damascus, Daraa

At least two people were killed late Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes targeted a military position south of the Syrian capital Damascus, according to a war monitor.

The Londond-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths were caused by Israeli strikes at a “military unit’s headquarters southwest of Damascus,” but that it could not confirm if they were civilians or military personnel.

A Syrian security source and Syria TV said Israeli planes struck the town of Kisweh approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Damascus. The security source also confirmed that a military site was targeted, without providing further details.

Additional Israeli air raids hit a town in the southern province of Daraa, a resident and Syria TV said.

The Israeli military said in a statement later that it attacked military targets in southern Syria including headquarters and sites which it claimed contained weapons.

“The Air Force is attacking strongly in southern Syria as part of the new policy we have defined of pacifying southern Syria – and the message is clear: we will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“Any attempt by the Syrian regime forces and the country’s … organizations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria – will be met with fire,” he added.

Residents of Damascus and Reuters reporters in the city heard the sound of airplanes flying several low passes over the capital and a series of blasts.

The bombardment came hours after Syria condemned Israel’s incursion into the country’s south and demanded it withdraw, according to the closing statement of a national summit.

Israel moved forces into a U.N.-monitored demilitarized zone within Syria after anti-regime forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled dictator Bashar Assad in December.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will not tolerate the presence of HTS in southern Syria, nor any other forces affiliated with the country’s new rulers and demanded the territory be demilitarized.