Israeli strikes leave 18 dead, says Syrian minister, who claims civilians were targeted
The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria’s health minister said – the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
One of the sites targeted was a weapons research centre, a war monitor said.
Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.
Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against hamas–ahezbollah ally – in Gaza.
However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night’s strikes were unusual.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside governmentcontrolled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Syrian health minister Hassan al-ghabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Uk-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbol la hand other iran-linked armed groups.
One strike targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf, and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria”, the observatory said.
It said the research centre was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short and medium-range precision missiles and drones.