DAMASCUS: Syrian state media reported Israeli attacks near the capital Damascus on Thursday. “Our air defense are intercepting hostile targets in the vicinity of Damascus,” official news agency SANA said. “An Israeli attack targeted the vicinity of the capital Damascus,” state television said. Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-foe Iran, which backs President Bashar Assad’s government, to expand its presence there. Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbor since Syria’s civil war began in 2011, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces including Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. But it has intensified attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, as tensions rise across the Middle East. Damascus international airport has been out of service since Israeli strikes targeted it in late November, just hours after flights resumed following similar attacks the previous month.