Aleppo: Syria's two main airports were rendered inoperable by Israeli bombings on Thursday, according to Syrian official media. This was the first such attack since Hamas's raid on Israel over the weekend resulted in intense fighting.
Flights into the government-controlled airports in war-torn Syria have been frequently grounded at Aleppo, in the north, and Damascus, the capital, as a result of Israeli strikes.
The "simultaneous" strikes, according to state media, "damaged landing strips in the two airports, putting them out of service." The source was an unnamed military person, AFP reported.
The most recent attacks occurred as Israel and Hamas engaged in intense firefighting for the sixth day. On Saturday, hundreds of Hamas gunmen broke across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, the majority of them were civilians.
They also coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel and occurred just hours after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi urged Arab and Islamic nations to unite against Israel on the phone with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad.
The strikes, according to the military source reported by Syrian state media, were a "desperate attempt by Israel to "divert attention" from the fighting in Gaza.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against its northern neighbour, Syria, over the course of the more than ten-year conflict. The main targets of these strikes have been Syrian army sites, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, and forces backed by Iran.
Israel has made it clear time and time again that it will not permit its fiercest adversary, Iran, to increase its influence in Syria. Iran backs Assad's administration.
Although insisting it was not involved, Iran, which supports Hamas, welcomed Hamas' attack on Israel on Saturday.