IRGC commander among 8 killed in Israeli strike on Iranian embassy in Syria

At least eight people were killed on Monday including a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Damascus after an Israeli airstrike hit the Iranian Embassy in Syria, sparking fears of other countries joining the fray against Tel Aviv's oppression of Gaza, state-run IRNA reported. 

Media reports from Iran noted that their diplomatic mission including the ambassador was unhurt in the multiple strikes in which some were intercepted by the Syrian Air Force. 

This is the major attack by Israeli forces on its arch-foe Iranian's extraterritorial jurisdiction since the resistance group Hamas stormed Israel on October 2023, amid Tel Aviv's decades-old brutal conduct on the innocent Palestinians. 

Iranian Mehr news agency citing Sana noted that the "Zionist forces" targeted the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus.

It also reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad contacted his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian over the phone and condemned the Israeli attack.

The video clips and pictures from local media agencies show large plumes of black smoke emanating from the site of the attack prompting emergency response from the local authorities.

The Israeli forces said after the missile attack that they "do not comment on reports in the foreign media."

Last week, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire amid the Israeli ground operation that was triggered by Hamas's response on October 7.