BEIRUT, November 14. /TASS/. Israeli forces struck the area of the Syrian city of al-Qusayr in the province of Homs near the border with Lebanon, the SANA news agency reported.

According to preliminary data, the attack targeted one of the local bridges. Al-Ikhbaria television reported that the bridge has been completely demolished.

The SANA news agency reported earlier, citing a statement from the Syrian armed forces, that at least 15 Syrians were killed in an Israeli missile strike on the western districts of Damascus. According to Sky News Arabia television, Israeli jets attacked the headquarters of the Islamic Jihad in Damascus, as they aimed to eliminate one of the leaders of Palestinian radicals.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages, including children, women and elderly people. In response, Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. That was followed by an Israeli ground operation in the enclave.

On September 23, Israel started a military operation codenamed Northern Arrows against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carrying out widespread strikes at the group’s military sites. In the small hours of October 1, Israel announced the start of a ground operation in the border areas of southern Lebanon.