DAMASCUS, Syria— An Israeli airstrike damaged the consular area of Iran’s consular office in Syria, eliminating an elderly Iranian army consultant and numerous others, Syrian authorities and state media claimed Monday.

The strike shows up to indicate a rise of Israel’s targeting of Iranian army authorities and their allies in Syria, which have actually increased given that Hamas militants — that are sustained by Iran — struck Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel, which seldom recognizes such strikes, claimed it had no remark.

The assault eliminated Iranian army consultant Gen. Ali Reza Zahdi, that led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria up until 2016, according to the Iranian Arabic-language state tv network Al-Alam and frying pan-Arab tv terminal Al-Mayadeen, which has press reporters in Syria.

Iranian Ambassador Hossein Akbari condemned Israel and claimed as several as 7 individuals were eliminated. First -responders were still looking for bodies under the debris. Akbari claimed 2 policemans that protect the building were injured.

He promised vengeance for the strike “at the same magnitude and harshness.”

Charles Lister, supervisor of the Syria program of the Washington-based Middle East Institute brain trust, called the strike a “major escalation.” The assault makes certain to attract revenge, he created on the social networks system X.

Syria’s international preacher, Faisal Mekdad, claimed “several” individuals were eliminated, and a telephone call with his equivalent in Iran, he condemned Israel.

A spokesperson for Iran’s international ministry, Nasser Kanaani, contacted the international neighborhood to condemn the strike. Iranian state tv claimed the Iranian ambassador’s home was inside the consular building, which stood alongside the consular office. The primary consular office stayed undamaged.

State information firm SANA, pointing out an unrevealed army resource, claimed the building in the snugly protected community of Mazzeh was leveled.

Israel has actually performed numerous strikes on targets in government-controlled components of Syria in current years.

Such airstrikes have actually intensified in current months versus the background of Israel’s battle versus Hamas in the Gaza Strip and recurring clashes in between Israel’s army and Hezbollah on the Lebanon-Israel boundary.

Though it seldom recognizes its activities in Syria, Israel has claimed it targets bases of Iran-allied militant teams such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has actually sent out countless boxers to sustain Syrian President Bashar Assad’s pressures.

An Israeli airstrike in a Damascus community in December eliminated a long time consultant of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria, Seyed Razi Mousavi. A comparable strike on a building in Damascus in January eliminated at the very least 5 Iranian consultants. Last week, airstrikes over the critical eastern Syrian district of Deir el-Zour near the Iraqi boundary eliminated an Iranian consultant.