Satellite images: Alleged Israeli strike near Aleppo leveled missile facility

A reported Israeli airstrike on Friday targeted a missile production facility outside Aleppo, completely destroying one building and damaging another, according to satellite images released by a private Israeli intelligence firm.

“The attack intended to weaken the missile production in Syria, probably for Hezbollah, by harming its crucial elements,” says the company, ImageSat International, which specializes in satellite imagery analysis.

The strike, which was conducted in the predawn hours of Friday morning, targeted the Syrian regime’s missile factory in al-Safira, outside Aleppo, in northern Syria.

The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the reported strikes, in accordance with its longstanding policy to neither confirm nor deny its activities in Syria.

The Aleppo region of northern Syria, near its border with Turkey, is an uncommon — but not unprecedented — site for reported Israeli airstrikes.

According to ImageSat, the two buildings that were hit in the strike “played a significant part in the missile production at the al-Safirah Missile Factory.”

Satellite images taken today showed at least some of the damage caused by the strike. One building, which ImageSat said likely contained explosives, was completely leveled in the attack. The second building sustained significant damage.

— Judah Ari Gross