Israeli airstrikes, which killed dozens of people in Palmyra yesterday, are “probably the deadliest” to hit Syria so far, a UN official said today, expressing concern over the escalation of violence in the country.

“Once again, Israeli strikes in Syria have increased significantly, either in frequency or magnitude.Nazat Rosdi, deputy UN special envoy to Syria, said before the Security Council.

“Yesterday (Wednesday), dozens of people were killed in a strike near Palmyra, possibly the deadliest Israeli bombardment to date“, he pointed out.

Israeli strikes yesterday targeted the city of Palmyra, in the center of the country, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO based in the United Kingdom but with a vast network of sources in Syria.

According to the latest NGO report, at least 79 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in these raids, with one of them hitting a gathering of pro-Iranian organizations, where officials from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement and Lebanon’s Hezbollah participated. For its part, the Syrian Ministry of Defense spoke of 36 dead.

In general, “Israel says its strikes are being carried out against targets linked to Iran, Hezbollah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But once again, we saw civilian casualties, including heavy shelling of residential areas in the heart of DamascusNazat Rosdi noted.

In addition, it expressed its concern about an “explosive situation” in the Golan and hostilities “in many other theaters of operations”, especially in the northwestern part of the country.

“This year is on track to be the most violent since 2020 and the risk of an even bigger disaster lurks“, she warned herself.