Syria Accuses Israel of Strikes Near Damascus

Syrian state media reported that Israeli jets early Thursday morning struck numerous military installations in and around the capital, Damascus. The attacks reportedly targeted Syrian and Iranian facilities located in Marj al-Sultan, Jisr Baghdad and al-Kiswah, where Tehran has allegedly constructed a permanent military base known as T-4 that Israel has reportedly targeted repeatedly. Jerusalem has over the past three years greenlighted thousands of operations in Syria in a bid to prevent the Islamic Republic from establishing a military foothold only dozens of miles away from the Golan Heights. However, the apparent frequency of Israeli attacks has decreased in recent months, amid reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Jerusalem curb the actions over fears of further destabilizing Syria while a regime offensive is raging in northwestern Idlib Province. Russia became the major power broker in Syria after intervening militarily in the conflict in September 2015. Since then, Putin has largely turned a blind eye to Israeli missions, to which Iran has intermittently retaliated with missile fire.