Israeli Airstrike in Damascus Raises Questions on Assassination of Iranian General

Before dawn on Sunday, February 19th, 2023, Israeli planes targeted a building in the middle of the upscale neighborhood of Kafr Sousa in the Syrian capital Damascus. The area houses a large number of vital, security, and diplomatic buildings.

The attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, resulted in the deaths of about 15 people, both civilians and military personnel. Initial speculation suggests that there was a meeting of one of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) arms inside the building, headed by the commander of the Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, who was rumored to have visited Syrian territories after the February 6th earthquake. This has led to increased expectations that the objective of the operation was to capture him.

However, Palestinian sources indicated that the meeting was for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, and that both Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, the group's leader, and Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, were among the attendees. The original target was the Islamic Jihad, not Qaani, the sources said.

To date, the speculations have not yet confirmed the objective of the operation, which the Israeli forces have not disclosed anything about. However, it is worth noting that the building belongs to the businessman Fadel Bilawi, who owns one of the exchange companies linked to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese party. According to the "Voice of the Capital" network, the building includes two floors that are used as a camouflage school to host Iranian security figures.

Iraqi journalist and analyst Hazem Al-Obaidi, in a statement to "Al-Marja" newspaper, said that the operation targeted a building affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which housed a group of Iranian arms and their collaborators, including members of the Houthi group in Yemen, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements. They were planning to thwart an imminent Israeli operation against Iranian interests, in addition to supporting the Iranian presence in Lebanon.

The area where the building is located has long been the site of Israeli operations, which Israel claims target Iranian interests, specifically the Quds Force and its arms.

The assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in early 2020 had a significant impact on the Quds Force and its arms, which are involved in various conflicts in the region, from Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and Yemen. Since his assassination, the Quds Force has undergone a significant restructuring, and Qaani was appointed to lead the force.

The assassination of Qaani, if confirmed, would represent a significant blow to Iran and its proxies in the region. However, it would also likely escalate the already tense situation in the Middle East, as Iran and its allies would seek to retaliate against Israel and its allies, while Israel and the United States would likely seek to justify the operation and deter any potential Iranian retaliation.