Russia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israeli airstrikes in Syria as a “gross violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the basic norms of international law.”

“In the context of the sharp escalation of the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, such forceful actions may lead to extremely dangerous consequences, as they could provoke an armed escalation throughout the region. That must never be allowed to happen,” the ministry said, according to Reuters. The ministry said the lives of “innocent people and the safety of international air traffic were exposed to a real threat.”

Israel reportedly carried out a series of airstrikes on Syria’s two most important airports in Aleppo and Damascus last week, including one on Saturday that shut down the facility.

Syrian officials said Saturday that Israeli missiles knocked Aleppo International Airport out of service—raising new concerns that the Israel War in Gaza has a real chance of becoming a regional war. 

“At approximately 11:35 pm… the Israeli enemy carried out an air strike from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea… targeting Aleppo International Airport, causing material damage to the airport and putting it out of service,” Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement obtained by The Times of Israel.

Aditya Raj Kaul, the executive editor of TV9 Network, posted a video of the attack and said, “Israeli bombardment earlier today at the runways in Aleppo International Airport in Syria. All operations at the Aleppo airport have been shut down.”

The Times of Israel, citing Al-Watan daily, reported that “the strike hit the runway of Aleppo airport—putting it out of service just hours after it was fixed following a similar Israeli strike on Thursday.”

Since 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria. Israel sees proxy forces in Syria as an existential threat because they are supported by Iran, its major military threat. 

Israel has admitted to launching hundreds of airstrikes into Syria that target Iranian troops, military targets, and allied groups such as Hezbollah who, along with Russia, are supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Damascus has accused Israel of committing war crimes after these strikes on civilian targets. Israel sees these civilian airports as legitimate military targets because it is believed Iran is using these airports to support fighters in the country. 

An Israeli journalist Hananya Naftali posted on X: “Israeli Air Force struck Aleppo airport in Syria, according to foreign reports I suspect there was an Iranian shipment of military equipment to Hezbollah that needed to be stopped.”

TRENDPOST: We’ve mentioned in previous issues that Western news outlets would be in a tizzy if Russia lobbed missiles at civilian airports in Ukraine. And, if Syria bombed Israel airports the U.S. would condemn it as an international war crime. (See “MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: ISRAEL BOMBS SECRET IRANIAN FACTORIES IN SYRIA: REPORT” 6 Jun 2023, “GANTZ: ISRAEL CAN STRIKE IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES, BUT WARNS OF FALLOUT,” 15 Nov 2022, and “IRAN’S MISSILES STRIKE ‘RETALIATORY,’ HITS ISRAELI TARGET” 22 Mar 2022.)

A popular Twitter user posted in March, “Israel is bombing Aleppo International Airport and the nearby Nayrab Military Airport. These two sites have been critical to delivering aid to Syrians affected by the earthquake. By every definition, this is a war crime.”