Israeli strikes kill three civilians in Syria’s Damascus, state TV says

State-run Syrian Arab News Agency says TV anchor killed in Israeli attack on Syrian capital.

Three civilians have been killed and nine others wounded in Israeli strikes on Syria’s capital Damascus, state-run media has reported.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) earlier reported that its television anchor Safaa Ahmad was killed on Tuesday in “treacherous Israeli aggression” targeting the Syrian capital.

Footage posted on social media appeared to show a car engulfed in flames on a street surrounded by apartment blocks.

It was not clear if the presenter was among the three civilian casualties referred to by state media.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense and military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The reports of Israeli strikes on the Syrian capital came as its military began “limited, localised, and targeted” ground raids in neighbouring Lebanon in a major escalation of its offensive targeting the armed group Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks killed at least 95 people and wounded 172 others across Lebanon on Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.

In his first address since Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said on Monday that its forces were “prepared and ready” for a ground invasion.

“We will win, just as we won in our confrontation with Israel in 2006,” Qassem said in a video message.

The spillover of fighting into Lebanon and Syria has stoked fears that the war in Gaza could escalate into a broader regional conflict.

On Monday, United States President Joe Biden called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week rejected proposals for a ceasefire with Hezbollah after the US, the European Union, Australia and a number of other countries issued a joint call for a 21-day pause in fighting.

“We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force,” Netanyahu told reporters as he arrived in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

“And we will not stop until we achieve all our goals, chief among them, the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”