The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Rockets were fired at a home in Syria’s capital on Friday night, wounding several people and causing damage, state media reports.

It’s not immediately clear who was behind the rocket attack in Damascus’ western neighborhood of Mazzeh 86.

The Syrian defense ministry says in a statement that two Katyusha rockets were launched from the outskirts of the city toward residential neighborhoods in the Mazzeh area and that it is searching for the launch sites.

An Associated Press journalist at the scene says that security forces cordoned off the area and prevented anyone from getting close to the building that was struck. Journalists were later allowed in to film the damaged building.

State television reports that one woman was wounded in the blast, which was caused by an attack by “unknown assailants,” adding that security forces are investigating. The defense ministry statement later says that “a number of people” are injured without giving more details.

During Syria’s 14-year civil war, explosions and bombings in Damascus were not uncommon, but since the fall of president Bashar Assad’s government in December last year by insurgents who took over his seat of power, calm has largely prevailed.

A rocket attack in the capital is highly unusual.

There have been other attacks since Assad’s fall however, including a suicide bombing that targeted a church on the outskirts of Damascus in June.

Israel has also carried out hundreds of airstrikes around the country since the end of the 54-year Assad dynasty, mainly targeting assets of the Syrian army, although it has not struck the capital in recent months.

Columbia University in New York City rejects demands to divest holdings from entities affiliated with Israel.

The divestment demands were a focus of the anti-Israel protests that rocked the campus after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel.

Activist groups filed three proposals calling on Columbia to divest from entities that violate human rights, to demand that companies the university has a stake in “cease any activities that are complicit in human rights violations against Palestinians,” and to divest from Israel.

The university rejects all three demands, stating that there is no consensus in the university community as required by its guidelines and that the proposals are vague and unworkable.

US President Donald Trump is expected to reach a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allowing Riyadh to acquire F-35 stealth fighter jets,........

© The Times of Israel