By Syria’s Health Minister reported on Monday that overnight Israeli strikes in central Hama province killed 18 people, revising earlier figures. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, provided a higher death toll, stating that 26 individuals died in the raids on military sites.
The Israeli military, which has conducted numerous strikes in Syria since the start of its civil war in 2011, declined to comment on this latest incident. According to Syria’s Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash, “the number of martyrs from the brutal Israeli aggression reached 18, with 37 wounded.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the strikes as some of the most severe in recent years. The attacks, which began around 11:20 pm on Sunday, targeted military sites in central Syria from the northwest direction of Lebanon. Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles, according to official news agency SANA.
The Observatory reported that the strikes hit sites associated with pro-Iran groups and weapons development experts, including a scientific research center in Masyaf. They also caused extensive damage, including large craters on the main road to Masyaf and charred vehicles in the area.
Iran condemned the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani calling it a “criminal attack by the Zionist regime.” Syria’s foreign ministry also condemned the raids, accusing Israel of attempting to escalate regional tensions.
Israeli strikes on Syria have intensified following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered the ongoing Gaza war. Despite these strikes, Syria has tried to avoid direct involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The civil war in Syria, sparked by the government’s suppression of a 2011 uprising, has claimed over half a million lives and involved multiple foreign forces.
