Observatory says the strikes wounded an undetermined number of people
\n DAMASCUS
\nRepairs have begun at the airport in Syria\u2019s capital, which was closed for a second day Saturday after Israeli air strikes, Syria\u2019s transport ministry said.
\nThe ministry confirmed in a statement that runways were out of service with serious damage after the attack.
\nSince civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon\u2019s group Hezbollah.
\nBut rarely have such attacks caused major flight disruptions.
\n\u201cCivil aviation and national companies are working… to repair the sizeable damage at the airport,\u201d the ministry said.
\nThe official SANA news agency said a civilian was wounded in the Israeli bombardment.
\nAlso read: Different photos, same wounds: Images from Ukraine, Syria mirror war
\nThe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the missile strike carried out before dawn on Friday hit one of the runways as well as three arms depots near the airport belonging to Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed groups.
\nThe Observatory, which relies on a network of sources within Syria, said the strikes wounded an undetermined number of people.
\nAccording to the Observatory, the damaged runway was the only one still operational after an Israeli strike last year put another one out of service.
\nSatellite images posted on Twitter by the Israeli firm ISI showed three separate areas of what it said was \u201cextensive damage to both military and civilian runways\u201d caused by the strikes.
\nRussia strongly condemned \u201cthe provocative Israeli attack against essential civilian infrastructure\u201d on Friday night.
\nA spokesperson for Russia\u2019s foreign ministry warned that continued Israeli bombardment of Syrian territory would be \u201can absolutely unacceptable violation of international norms.\u201d
\nSyrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke by phone and also condemned the attack, SANA reported.
\nSyria \u201cwill defend itself by all legitimate means\u201d against Israeli attacks, Mekdad said.
\nWhile Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds, in what the Jewish state\u2019s military says is necessary to prevent its arch foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep.
\nThe conflict in Syria started with the brutal repression of peaceful protests and escalated to pull in foreign powers and global fighters.
\nThe war has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country\u2019s pre-war population from their homes.
\nRussia\u2019s military intervention in 2015 helped turn the war in favour of Syria\u2019s President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow maintains military bases in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Observatory says the strikes wounded an undetermined number of people DAMASCUS Repairs have begun at the airport in Syria\u2019s capital, which was closed for a second day Saturday after Israeli air strikes, Syria\u2019s transport ministry said. The ministry confirmed in a statement that runways were out of service with serious damage after the attack. Since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8451,8452,1428],"class_list":{"0":"post-265788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-israeli-strikes","9":"tag-repairing-airport","10":"tag-syria"},"yoast_head":"\n