ISRAEL Israeli raid on Aleppo airport: blocks aid for earthquake victims

At two in the morning there was an air strike from the Mediterranean, west of Latakia, against the second airport in Syria. It is a key center for the distribution of basic necessities to the population affected by the earthquake on February 6, which has left a balance of 6,000 dead and more than 500,000 homeless. Damascus speaks of “enemy missiles”; No comment from Israel.

Aleppo () – An Israeli air strike early today knocked out Aleppo international airport, one of the centers devastated by the earthquake on February 6 in Turkey and Syria, making relief and aid operations even more difficult to the population. According to reports from the official Sana agency, reproduced by a Damascus military source, the airport’s runway has been damaged “by enemy missiles” and is currently unusable. No comment from the Israeli army, responsible for the attack.

The Syrian air defense system reportedly intercepted some missiles coming from the Mediterranean, which were launched west of the coastal city of Latakia at 2 a.m. local time. Since last year Israel has stepped up attacks on Syrian airports to prevent Damascus ally Tehran from handing over weapons and vehicles to Syria and the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

However, today’s airstrike occurs in a very different context than in the past. Syria is doomed – like neighboring Turkey – to bring aid to the population affected by the earthquake, which at the same time continues to face the war, Covid-19, poverty and health emergencies. The Syrian Defense Ministry stated that “the planes cannot be received with help, at least until the damage is repaired. [especialmente en la pista]”; the only positive note, concludes the official statement, is that no victims or injuries have been reported.

In the weeks since the earthquake, Aleppo airport has been used as a reference point for the delivery of humanitarian aid, along with the reopening of border crossings with Turkey, including in the rebel- and jihadist-held northwestern province of Idlib. Souleiman Khalil, an official with the Syrian Ministry of Transport, insists on pointing out that the earthquake has caused the death of almost 6,000 people in the country and that more than 80 planes loaded with aid have landed at the Aleppo international airport this month. “The main damage -he concludes- is on the runway, which must be repaired” so that the airport can operate again.

Aleppo’s airport, the country’s second largest, was the target of an Israeli attack last September and was forced to close for three days. In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria against the positions and targets of the Damascus government, its Iranian ally and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement operating on its territory. While it did not comment on today’s attack, the Jewish state has in the past claimed the legitimacy of these operations, stressing that their goal is to prevent Iranian outposts – the region’s number one enemy – from being established near border.

Meanwhile, the estimate of the damage caused by the earthquake continues: Unicef ​​states that more than 500,000 people have had to leave their homes, many families are homeless and children are afraid to return for fear of new tremors. The earthquake adds to an endless series of crises, and already before February 6, Syria had the largest number of internally displaced persons in the world (6.8 million people), including almost three million children. In total, there are 3.7 million minors affected in various ways by the earthquake.