Late Sunday, Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple areas in central Syria, resulting in at least four fatalities and 13 injuries, according to Syrian state media. The state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses responded to the strikes, which affected several locations in the central region, including a highway in Hama province, where fires broke out and continued to burn into early Monday. Victims, whose identities as civilians or militants were not immediately confirmed, were taken to Masyaf National Hospital in western Hama province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitor, stated that one of the strikes hit a scientific research center in Masyaf and other facilities allegedly used by Iranian militias and experts involved in weapons development. Local media also reported strikes near the coastal city of Tartous. The Israeli military has not commented on the incidents.
Israel has conducted numerous strikes in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, mainly targeting Syrian military positions and Iranian-backed groups, though it rarely publicly acknowledges these operations. The Israeli government has pledged to prevent Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, viewing the country as a strategic corridor for arms shipments to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have been escalating, fueled by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where Hezbollah has been a supportive ally of Hamas in the nearly year-long hostilities.
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