Syria says Israeli missiles hit its main airports

Syrian state media says Israeli forces have hit the country’s two main international airports with missiles, putting them out of action.

State media said runways had been damaged at both Damascus and Aleppo airports and flights would be diverted to Latakia, a city in north-west Syria.

Israel has not commented on the strike. It has previously attacked targets in war-torn Syria, linked to Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister was planning to fly to Syria on Friday.

Syria’s Damascus and Aleppo airports not only handle civil aviation but also host military bases, which are reportedly transit points for Iranian arms sent to Hezbollah.

An unnamed military source quoted by Syrian state media said “simultaneous” Israeli strikes had “damaged landing strips in the two airports, putting them out of service”. The source called it a “desperate”Israeli attempt to divert attention from the Gaza conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian – who was due to visit Syria as part of a tour of the region in the coming days – arrived in Iraq on Thursday and is also expected to visit Lebanon.

The minister’s tour is seen as an effort by Tehran to rally regional support for Hamas – which rules the Gaza Strip. The Iranian government, fiercely hostile to Israel, celebrated Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday, in which 1,300 Israelis were killed.

Iran has condemned Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza, which has destroyed whole neighbourhoods. Palestinian officials say more than 1,400 people have been killed in the bombings.

Since the Hamas assault there have been some cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and militants in southern Lebanon and Syria. Israel has sent reinforcements to the north to thwart any Hezbollah attack.

Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war against opposition groups and the so-called Islamic State (IS), which has raged since 2011.