For days, Syrians have watched as Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the skies over their territory, but the new government in Damascus has so far remained officially silent on the unprecedented conflict.

Iran was one of former ruler Bashar al-Assad's biggest backers, playing a crucial role in propping up his government by providing military advisers and the support of affiliated armed groups throughout the 14-year Syrian civil war.

Israel, meanwhile, has occupied the Golan Heights since seizing it from Syria in 1967, and has kept troops in a UN-patrolled buffer zone there since December, when the fall of Assad at the hands of an Islamist-led coalition sparked a wave of Israeli air strikes on military targets.

But despite both countries looming large in Syrian affairs over the years, Damascus -- and everyday Syrians -- appear eager to keep the current crisis at arm's length.

"From my balcony at night, I watch the missiles going towards Israel and the anti-missile systems, and I observe the explosions in the sky," said surgeon Mohammed Khayr al-Jirudi.

"The people are fed up with everything related to killing and destruction, we've had........

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