Russia warns Israel that its airstrikes in Syria threaten to destabilize region

The Russian Foreign Ministry says Israel was behind a series of airstrikes on targets in Syria on Monday morning, adding that these attacks threaten to destabilize the region.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, six Israeli fighter jets operating inside Lebanese airspace conducted the predawn raid, which she says was the largest attack of its kind since last May, when Israel squared off against Syria and Iran in a massive nighttime battle in response to a rocket attack by Iranian troops on Israeli military positions on the Golan Heights.

Zakharova says Israel’s missile attacks struck targets outside Damascus and Homs, including some sites near residential areas. Sixteen people were said killed in the strikes, including civilians.

“We are concerned about this alarming development of the situation,” Zakharova says in a press briefing.

“Force actions that grossly violate the sovereignty of Syria, not only do not contribute to the normalization of the situation in this country, but also carry a threat of regional destabilization,” she says.

— Judah Ari Gross