At least 14 people were killed and 43 wounded, six critically, in a series of Israeli airstrikes in northwestern Syria late Sunday, according to Syrian state media.
The SANA news agency reported that Israel had targeted several military sites around Masyaf in the Hama countryside. According to Reuters, which cited two regional intelligence sources, among the sites hit was the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, a major military research center for chemical weapons. The center is believed to house a team of Iranian military experts, according to the report.
According to Israel, it is used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision surface-to-surface missiles.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor aligned with the Syrian opposition, there were four attacks in less than three hours, targeting military sites west of Hama where “where Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria,” and a floating object off the coast of Baniyas.
Unknown Air Forces Strikes Hama and Tartus in Syria
— Dana Levi דנה🇮🇱🇺🇸 (@Danale) September 8, 2024
Syrian sources say this is the largest Israeli attack in the last couple of years.
The target was a Hezbollah weapons production center located in Masyaf. pic.twitter.com/I4MJcMFqWA
Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported that three rounds of attacks were carried out against five pro-Iranian militia sites in rural areas around Hama.
Israel rarely admits to attacks on Syrian territory, although in February Jerusalem revealed that it had attacked more than 50 targets belonging to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed terror groups in Syria since Oct. 7.
