17 Syrians Suffered in Attack on Iranian Consulate, US Expects Israel to Carry Out Investigation

CAIRO (Sputnik) - The Israeli air force strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday killed four Syrians and injured 13 more, Syrian Health Minister Hassan Al-Ghabbash said on Tuesday.

"The number of Syrian citizens killed in the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate on Monday reached four, 13 are injured," the minister told Syria’s state-run SANA broadcaster.

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby later claimed there is no evidence at the moment to suggest that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike on staff of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) was intentional.

"Your question presumes, at this very early hour, that it was a deliberate strike that they [IDF] knew exactly what they were hitting, that they were hitting aid workers and did it on purpose, and there's no evidence of that," Kirby said during a press briefing.

The remarks were made in response to a reporter's question about whether firing a missile at WCK staff delivering food, resulting in deaths, constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.

Kirby did not say anything about the deaths of Syrian people.

Kirby added that the US expects Israel to carry out a comprehensive and prompt investigation into the incident, hoping the results will be publicly disclosed and that there will be suitable accountability.