GCC slams Israeli strikes on Syria as grave violation of international law

The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has roundly denounced the continued Israeli strikes on Syrian soil as a violation of the Arab nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In the final communiqué of the 46th session of the Supreme Council of the GCC in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Wednesday, the Persian Gulf bloc condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks and violations targeting the Syrian Arab Republic, describing them as "blatant" assaults on its sovereignty and stability.

They emphasized that the acts of aggression undermine Syria's security, unity, territorial integrity, and the well-being of its citizens.

The GCC reiterated that the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is a part of the Syrian territory, condemning Israel's expansion in the strategic region, its plans to expand settlements there, and its occupation of the buffer zone along the Syrian border as a "gross violation" of the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions.

The bloc urged the UN Security Council and the international community to fulfill their legal and moral obligations by halting these attacks on Syrian territory and ensuring Israel's complete withdrawal from all occupied Syrian land.

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According to data provided by Syria’s ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime, Israel has conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on Syria, along with over 400 cross-border incursions into the southern provinces since December 2024.

In the latest violation of Syria's sovereignty, Israeli drones struck an area in the Damascus countryside on Wednesday.

The local al-Ikhbariyah Syria television news channel said a drone attack targeted Tel Bat al-Warda, near the village of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside.

Additionally, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported multiple drone strikes occurring around Beit Jinn.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the extent of damage caused by the attacks. 

As reported by SANA, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft conducted extensive flights over the western countryside of Damascus and the northern countryside of Quneitra.

Israel has repeatedly conducted aggressive offensives across Syrian territory following the collapse of former President Bashar al-Assad's government late last year.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his forces to advance further into Syrian territory since then, targeting the acquisition of several strategically significant locations in the area.

Israel has intensified its presence in Syria by taking control of the buffer zone that divides the occupied Golan Heights from the broader Syrian territory, thereby violating the provisions outlined in the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Analysts say that the HTS regime's acquiescence has encouraged the Israeli regime to escalate its territorial occupation in Syria and increase its airstrikes on the area.

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