Overnight Airstrikes Rock Western Syria

July 20, 2020

A series of airstrikes and other military activity were reported across western Syria on Monday evening, with the most significant reports coming from just outside the capital of Damascus. Video was published on social media by multiple witnesses showing the activation of Syrian air defense batteries in reaction to incoming airstrikes over western Damascus. Explosions were reported at a base just west of the capital, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly operates a munitions depot. The base in the suburb of al-Kiswah was previously confirmed by satellite images in 2017 to be a permanent IRGC compound. Syrian state media reported seven Syrian soldiers wounded, while other sources reported Iranian casualties as well. At least one Syrian anti-aircraft missile fired in response to the strike landed in western Jordan, starting a wildfire.

Residents of the Israeli Golan Heights reported intense Israeli air force activity in the area at the time of the strikes, with additional strikes being reported just beyond the Golani border in Quneitra and Darra governates. The IRGC and Lebanese Hezbollah have been repeatedly documented in the area by the Israeli military. Daraa was the cradle of the Syrian revolution in 2011, and many residents have expressed outrage at the complicity of the Syrian regime in allowing jihadist militias to operate near their towns and villages with near impunity. As usual, the Israeli military had no immediate comment regarding the strikes.

As mysterious explosions continue to cripple Iranian nuclear sites and infrastructure, and as airstrikes continue to target Iranian bases and proxies in Syria and Iraq, we ask our global family to continue in prayer for the people of Israel, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Tensions have steadily escalated in the three years since the end of the transnational ISIS caliphate, as both Iran and Turkey continue to exploit the vacuum left by the Islamic State. We continue to pray that the plots of violent men would be frustrated and thwarted, and that a divine hedge of protection would be placed around civilians - Jew, Arab, Kurd and Persian - who are left vulnerable by the aggression of these corrupt regimes. We pray for divine wisdom to be granted to regional leaders of goodwill, and for Spirit-filled boldness to be granted to those FAI field workers who are laboring from the Golan Heights to the Iranian border, bringing Good News of Great Joy to those who are harassed and helpless.

Maranatha.