TEHRAN – In a tragic incident on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike targeted Damascus, the capital of Syria, resulting in casualties, including 5 Iranian military advisors. 

The attack, reportedly carried out by fighter jets associated with the Zionist regime, has heightened tensions in the region.

The Public Relations Office of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) released a statement confirming the airstrike and providing details about its aftermath. According to the report, “several Syrian forces and four Iranian military advisors” lost their lives in the attack. The individuals who tragically perished were identified as Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi, and Mohammad-Amin Samadi.

Iran is expected to take revenge for the attack. 

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf strongly condemned the incident in a message. He wrote, “a strong and appropriate response from Iran will awaits the Zionists.”

The IRGC statement condemned the actions of the Zionist regime, describing it as a "sinister and criminal invasion" of Syria's capital. This incident marks a renewed escalation in the long-standing tensions in the region.

Earlier reports from local Syrian sources had indicated an explosion in western Damascus, supported by images illustrating the aftermath of the incident. Syrian state media, SANA, verified the explosion, suggesting it resulted from precision-guided Israeli missiles that targeted a multi-story building in the western Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported the destruction of a four-story building, cordoned off with ambulances, firefighters, and Syrian Arab Red Crescent rescue teams present. At least one person was taken to the hospital. The Mazzeh area, where the attack occurred, also hosts the United Nations' headquarters, embassies, and restaurants.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based non-profit organization, reported at least five people killed in the missile attack.

Israel's intensified airstrikes in the region have been notable, with the recent incident following the inception of the war in the occupied territories of Palestine on October 7. Israel waged war on the besieged Gaza Strip in response to a surprise operation by Hamas which aimed to retaliate for decades of occupation and continued crimes of the Zionist regime against Palestinians.

On December 25, an Israeli airstrike in Damascus claimed the life of Iranian general Seyyed Razi Mousavi, a veteran of the IRGC in Syria. 

Iran’s response came strongly as the country struck an Israeli spy headquarters located in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Tuesday. At least 3 high-ranking Mossad agents were eliminated during the offensive.

The international community is closely monitoring the situation, as Israel continues to act recklessly in the region, taking more lives and further expanding the scope of the conflict in the region. As details continue to emerge, questions about the motivation behind the attack, its intended targets, and the broader implications for regional stability remain unanswered. 

As such brutal killings by the Zionists have, so far, had no impact on Iran's progress across various domains, it is uncertain what Israel aimed to achieve with yet another act of such inhumane nature.