KUWAIT: Kuwait strongly condemned the Zionist entity’s airstrike that targeted the area surrounding the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, in a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

The Zionist entity has escalated its attacks on Syria since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad in December, with bombings across the country and ground forces entering its southwest, while calling for Syria to remain decentralized and isolated.

Zionist leaders have also repeatedly issued threats against the new Syrian president Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whom they view as a threat to their borders. Syria was not spared from Zionist bombing when the country was governed by Al-Assad, with the entity claiming its attacks at the time were targeting Iranian bases. “Justifying such attacks under security pretexts does not legitimize any violation of a country’s sovereignty,” said Kuwait’s foreign ministry.

Damascus, Hama and Daraa were also hit by Zionist strikes on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The strikes on Damascus countryside killed one civilian and injured four others in Hama, SANA added. The Zionist military confirmed the attacks on Saturday, saying its forces “struck a military site, anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile infrastructure in Syria” without giving further details or any evidence.

The strikes come after more than 100 people were killed during fighting between pro-government forces and Druze fighters in Syria. Zionist leaders have framed their attacks on Syria around accusations that it has failed to protect its Druze community. Late on Thursday, Druze community leaders and Syrian government officials met in Sweida in a bid to defuse tensions.

Their concluding statement said residents of Sweida would protect their province as a part of Syria’s internal security forces, and rejected “division, separation or secession”. “Syria is our mother nation, we do not have an alternative country,” Sheikh Laith al-Balous, one of the Druze leaders in the meeting, told Syria TV in an interview when asked whether the Zionist entity’s strikes on Syria were meant to protect the Druze. “We don’t need anyone’s protection.”

The Zionist military continues to occupy parts of Syria, including the Golan Heights, despite international condemnation. Kuwait reaffirmed its unwavering stance in support of the unity of Syria and the integrity of its territories. It called on the international community to shoulder its legal and humanitarian responsibilities to halt the repeated violations and crimes committed by the Zionist entity occupation in the region, which threaten the security and stability of the area. — Agencies