Syria says Israeli airstrikes targeted several sites in country's center, wounding 7

Unconfirmed report from war monitor says three-Iran backed fighters were killed in attacks on makeshift petrol stations affiliated with Hezbollah in Homs, weapons depots in Hama

The Syrian defense ministry accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes on several sites in the center of the war-torn country on Friday night.

“At approximately 7:35 pm (1635 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of northern Lebanon, targeting a number of sites in the central region,” it said, adding that seven civilians were wounded.

A war monitor said Israeli air strikes on Syria targeting positions of the army and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah killed three Iran-backed fighters on Friday.

“Israeli strikes have so far killed three pro-Iranian fighters and wounded about 10 others,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based war monitor said the strikes targeted “makeshift petrol stations affiliated to Hezbollah in the Homs countryside, and struck weapons depots belonging to the group as well as two Syrian army sites in the Hama countryside.”

SOHR, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, has been accused in the past of inflating regime losses.

Breaking | Explosions have been reported at Hama Military Airport and in areas across the countryside of Homs and Hama in central #Syria pic.twitter.com/DBPnRiUxEw

— Daniella Modos – Cutter -SEN (@DmodosCutter) August 23, 2024

Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and its Iran-backed allies.

The raids intensified after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel sparked war in Gaza, then eased after an April 1 strike blamed on Israel hit an Iranian consular building in Damascus killing two generals of the Revolutionary Guard.

https://twitter.com/hareth003/status/1827032059291881634

Tensions have risen again since the killings of two senior Iran-backed fighters last month, which sparked threats of reprisals from Tehran and its allies, who blamed Israel.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.