Two Syrians were killed Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes near Damascus targeting facilities of the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group, which militarily backs Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a non-governmental organization said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that the airports of Damascus and Aleppo, which were bombed by Israel, have been closed since October 22, their longest closure since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes, the vast majority of them from the air, since war broke out in the neighboring country, targeting Iranian forces, Iranian-aligned groups such as Hezbollah, and positions of the Syrian armed forces.

Yesterday morning, Israel bombed a Hezbollah “center” near Damascus, before hitting another installation of the Lebanese organization. Two Syrians, who were “working with Hezbollah,” were killed in this latest raid, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The Zionist enemy launched an air strike with two missiles (…) targeting positions near Damascus,” said a source close to the Syrian army. “Our air defenses were activated to counter the attack and shot down one of the missiles,” he added.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry stressed for its part that “such criminal acts (…) threaten the security and stability of the region”, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

Israel rarely publicly comments on its attacks in Syria, however it declares that it will not allow Iran, its sworn enemy, to build a bridgehead or expand its presence at its gates.