Israel hits multiple sites in Syria

Early Sunday, Syrian state media reported that airstrikes conducted by Israel targeted multiple locations in the southern part of Syria, resulting in injuries to a soldier. According to the state-run SANA news agency, which referenced an anonymous military source, some missiles launched towards these sites were intercepted and shot down by air defenses. These missiles originated from the direction of the Golan Heights, an area under Israeli control, around 12:42 a.m. local time. The attacks caused not only injuries to a soldier but also led to substantial material damages.

Further reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group aligned with the opposition, indicated that the Israeli airstrikes extended to two military bases situated in the Qalamoun mountains northeast of Damascus. This area is notably active with Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group. Among the targeted was a convoy believed to be carrying weapons, as per the observatory’s findings.

The observatory has documented that these recent airstrikes mark the 24th instance of Israeli intervention in Syria since the start of 2024, which has resulted in the deaths of 43 combatants from various factions, including Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard of Iran, as well as nine civilians.

As of now, Israeli authorities have not issued any comments regarding these operations. It is a known fact that Israel conducts regular attacks on entities in Syria associated with Iran, although it seldom admits to such actions. The frequency of these attacks has seen a notable increase in the last five months, amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza and repeated confrontations between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border.

Just last week, the Israeli military disclosed that over the previous five months, it had executed approximately 4,500 attacks against Hezbollah, mainly within Lebanon’s borders but with some occurring inside Syria as well. In a statement, the Israeli army emphasized its resolve to prevent any efforts by Hezbollah to consolidate its presence along the Syrian frontier.