SyriaTV presenter Dima Abodan fled her broadcast desk in terror as an Israeli airstrike hit the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday, an event captured live on air.
“I couldn’t breathe from fear,” she recounted in an interview. “I’m still in shock. The feelings are indescribable—pure terror. I’ve experienced fear from attacks before under Assad’s regime but this was different.” After months of relative calm in Syria, the sudden strike during her broadcast left her grappling with overwhelming dread.
Abodan described the lingering fear, heightened by the studio’s glass backdrop. “I’ll never forget those feelings,” she said. Even before the broadcast, she sensed danger. “We read Israel’s statements and warnings to Damascus. I kept saying the bombings might reach our studio and shatter the window. The fear was there from the start.”
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The extraordinary footage from SyriaTV showed a powerful explosion in the background, interrupting her live report. Defense Minister Israel Katz shared the video on his X account, writing, “The painful blows have begun.”
Footage of IDF strike in Damascus
The IDF later confirmed the strikes targeted the Syrian regime’s general staff headquarters and the presidential palace in central Damascus. Initial army assessments suggest the headquarters sustained severe damage and may have been destroyed.
According to the IDF, the general staff complex in Damascus is a hub where Syrian regime commanders direct operations, including deploying forces to the Sweida region. A military target near the presidential palace was also hit, marking a significant escalation in the heart of the Syrian capital.