"A military position southwest of Damascus International Airport was targeted at dawn today by an Israeli aggression using several missiles fired from occupied territory, sparking explosions in the area," SANA said, citing a military source. Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m.

Israel's intelligence minister says a large explosion near the Damascus airport is in line with Israeli policy but stopped short of taking responsibility for it. Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking from the United States, where he has been meeting US officials, told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran. Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 34-day war in 2006 which killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. “This aggression will not dissuade the army from continuing the war against terrorism and crushing it.”

According to a report by the pro-opposition watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the blast from the strikes “could be heard all through Damascus and its suburbs,” and fire was seen rising near the airport. Israel has carried out multiple air strikes in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, most of which it has said targeted arms convoys or warehouses of its Lebanese arch-foe Hezbollah, which is a close ally of the Syrian regime. "Al-Manar's correspondent reported that an explosion struck at dawn on Thursday in fuel tanks and a warehouse near Damascus International Airport and that it was probably the result of an Israeli strike," the channel said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports a large explosion near Damascus International Airport followed by a fire. The Syrian government says Israel struck the military site with several missiles. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz states that the strike "corresponds completely with Israel's policy".