Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has condemned and denounced the Israeli bombing that targeted the Masyaf area in Hama and claimed the lives of dozens of Syrians, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
It called on the international community to put a definitive end to the aggressive Israeli practices, the war crimes it commits, and the political assassinations it carries out, which requires an international stance to deter and hold it accountable.
Masyaf
Near the usually quiet Syrian town of Masyaf smoke was still billowing from trees while burnt-out cars stood nearby, a day after authorities reported deadly Israeli strikes on military sites.
Syrian health minister Hassan al-Ghabash said the overnight "Israeli aggression" killed 18 people and wounded 37 others, during a media tour organized by the authorities.
At the entrance to the mountainous town, about 220 km (135 miles) north of the capital Damascus, a partially burned sign read "Masyaf".
Fire-damaged cars were visible on both sides of the road, with nearby trees still burning and electric cables damaged and tangled, reported an AFP correspondent at the scene. The raids also blew five large craters in the main road to Masyaf, the correspondent said. Ambulances were still moving around the area, where one car had been burnt down to its metal frame and a yellow bulldozer was flipped upside down. Mohammed Akkari, 47, who lives near the site of the strikes with his wife and two children, said they were gripped by fear when their house shook near midnight. "We had never heard such a sound, a terrifying explosion, my children were terrified," he told AFP.
At the Masyaf hospital, firefighter Mohammed Shmeil, 36, was being treated for his injured leg and foot. "What we saw during that incident was something else," he said, wincing in pain. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said 26 people were killed in what its chief Rami Abdel Rahman said was "one of the most violent Israeli attacks" in years.
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