Israel said to carry out airstrikes in Syria for second straight night

Israeli aircraft bombed targets in Syria after midnight on Thursday, Syrian state media reported, in what would be the second such strike in less than 24 hours

SANA reported that Israeli helicopters struck in the area of the Quneitra border town in the Syrian Golan Heights, claiming that no injuries or damages were incurred.

The IDF declined to comment on the reported strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny most of its operations in Syria.

Early Wednesday, SANA reported that an Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes in northern Syria that killed one person and wounded six others. It was the first alleged attack since raids last month that saw an errant Syrian anti-aircraft missile explode in the Negev desert.

Syrian air defenses engaged Israeli missiles near the port city of Latakia in northern Syria and Hama in the West in the Wednesday strike, according to SANA. The report claimed the casualties were civilians.

A large fire with secondary explosions near Latakia, #Syria reported. pic.twitter.com/FHZSIgL9Td

— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) May 5, 2021

Videos posted to social media showed a large fire and several loud explosions at the scene of the blast.

SANA said the site was a plastics factory. Israel has reportedly bombed sites connected to Iran’s alleged missile production and arms depots in the areas of Latakia and Hama before. Then too, the IDF refused to comment on the late-night strikes.

The IDF has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 against moves by Iran to establish a permanent military presence in the country, as well as efforts to transport advanced, game-changing weapons to terrorist groups in the region, principally Hezbollah.

#بالفيديو
عدوان اسرائيلي استهدف مستودع مدني للمواد البلاستيكية بريف محافظة اللاذقية#سوريا #يونيوز pic.twitter.com/2CTPcSkQsT

— وكالة يونيوز للأخبار (@uunionnews) May 5, 2021

The Wednesday strike was the first reported since April 22, when a Syrian surface-to-air missile crashed to earth near the Dimona nuclear reactor. At the time, the IDF said the errant Syrian anti-aircraft missile was fired at an Israeli jet during an IAF airstrike on targets in the Syrian Golan Heights.

Pieces of the Syrian surface-to-air missile landed in open areas of the Ramat Negev region of southern Israel, local authorities said in a message to residents, with some pieces reportedly striking some 30 kilometers from the Dimona reactor.

In response to the launch of the surface-to-air missile, Israeli jets conducted a second round of airstrikes in Syria, bombing the battery that fired the projectile, as well as other air defense systems, the IDF said.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.