25 Dead, Dozens Injured in Intense Israeli Strikes on Sensitive Syrian Sites

Syrian state media reported on Monday that Israeli airstrikes overnight in central Hama province resulted in the deaths of 16 people, while a war monitor indicated that the toll was even higher, with significant damage to military targets.

The Israeli military, which has carried out numerous strikes in Syria since the civil war began in 2011, declined to comment on the latest attacks. According to Syria’s official news agency, SANA, a medical source confirmed that “16 martyrs and 36 wounded” resulted from the strikes on locations around Masyaf, with six people in critical condition, revising an earlier death toll of 14.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported “intense Israeli strikes” and increased the death toll to 25, which included five civilians, four soldiers, intelligence officers, and 13 Syrians affiliated with pro-Iran groups. Three bodies were unidentified.

Since 2011, Israeli strikes in Syria have typically targeted military sites and Iran-backed forces, such as Hezbollah. While Israeli authorities rarely comment on specific strikes, they have consistently stated that they aim to prevent Iran from expanding its influence in Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory, which gathers information from a network of sources inside Syria, earlier indicated that the strikes hit locations where pro-Iran groups and weapons experts were based. It added that the airstrikes targeted a scientific research center in Masyaf, destroying military facilities and structures.

SANA also reported that Syrian air defenses managed to intercept some of the missiles launched by Israeli forces from northwest Lebanon at around 11:20 pm on Sunday.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, described the strikes as “one of the most violent Israeli attacks” in recent years, noting that Iranian experts working on precision missiles and drones were present at the research center.

The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the strikes, labeling them as “criminal acts” by Israel, while Syria’s foreign ministry accused Israel of provoking further regional escalation.

Israeli attacks on Syria have intensified since the war between Hamas and Israel erupted following Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel. Though the strikes eased after an Israeli raid on the Iranian consular building in Damascus on April 1, tensions remain high.

Despite its proximity, Syria has largely avoided direct involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, wary of sparking a wider regional war. However, in late August, Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed several pro-Iran fighters in Syria’s Homs region. Days later, Israel targeted fighters from Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, near the Lebanese border.

Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 after a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, has claimed over half a million lives and drawn in various international actors, including Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah, who have supported President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Israeli airstrikes have also focused on disrupting Hezbollah’s supply routes to Lebanon.