Lebanon condemns Israeli 'breach of air space' after bombing in Syria

Syrian military says two soldiers were killed in attack on Shayrat airbase in Homs

A satellite image of Shayrat airbase in Syria in 2017, scene of an alleged attack by Israel on Sunday. US Department of Defence via AP

Lebanon has condemned Israel’s apparent bombing of an airbase in Syria and for breaching Lebanese air space to carry out the attack.

The Syrian military said the missile attack on the Shayrat airbase in Homs province killed two soldiers and injured three.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a warehouse for Iranian militias and Hezbollah at Shayrat were destroyed in the strike on Sunday.

Israel is an enemy of Tehran and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party that is highly influential in Lebanon and is active in Syria in support of the regime of Bashar Al Assad.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Shayrat, “which caused many deaths and injuries, as well as material damage”.

It also described the attack as a breach of Lebanon’s air space “and a direct threat to the safety of civilian navigation”.

“These attacks constitute a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions, as well as a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon and its air space by Israeli warplanes,” the ministry said.

A health worker treats a child who is suspected of having cholera at a field hospital in Bebnine, Akkar district, northern Lebanon. All photos: Reuters

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health has reported 130 cases of cholera, taking the total of suspected and confirmed case to 1,225 as of October 28.

Confirmed cholera cases in Lebanon now stand at 371, with 16 deaths.

There are 154 cases of cholera in the Lebanese town of Bebnine.

Lebanon's first case of cholera since 1993 was reported on October 6 in Akkar district, about 20 kilometres north of Tripoli.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can be treated with oral rehydration but is deadly if left untreated, according to the World Health Organisation.

Cholera is spread by unsafe water and food that has been contaminated by human waste.

Lebanon shares border with Syria, where cases of cholera continue to rise.

Syria’s cholera outbreak is likely to have started with contaminated water and food irrigated by the Euphrates River, Save the Children says.

Israel has repeatedly intruded on Lebanese air space to carry out attacks in Syria against Iranian and Iran-backed forces during the Syrian civil war.

Iran, Syria and Lebanon do not recognise Israel and remain in an official state of war with the country.