The Israeli Air Force launched a missile attack on Aleppo International Airport in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, March 22nd, Syrian news agency SANA reported. Aleppo International Airport (also a civilian airport) is strategically vital for post-earthquake Syria as global relief materials are being flown to Syria through this airport.Â
Notably, on February 6, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. At least 56,000 people in both countries died in the quake. Syrian casualties stood at least 6,000. Even in this grievous earthquake-ravaged scenario, Israel is not ceasing to strike Syria as the former has already forayed the Syrian territory thrice.
SANA reported that the Israeli Air Force launched a barrage of missiles on Syria’s Aleppo International Airport from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Lattakia.
While not detailing the extent of damage to Aleppo International Airport, the Syrian Arab Army only said that the Israeli strike had caused some material damage to the airport.
Earlier, on February 18th, an Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus left five civilians dead and 15 injured. After that, on March 7th, the Israeli Air Force launched another missile strike on Aleppo.
In the wake of Israel’s March 7th attack, the United Nations (UN) issued a statement decrying the incident. United Nations human rights official El-Mostafa Benlamlih criticised the Israeli attack as the attack took place coinciding with the flow of earthquake relief materials to earthquake-ravaged Syria through Aleppo.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes for allegedly deporting children from the Donbass region.Â
In the background of such a step taken by the ICC, international communities are raising questions about whether the attack on the earthquake relief collection centre is tantamount to a war crime or whether any action would be taken against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a result.
