Syrian officials say a series of Israeli strikes have hit multiple areas in central Syria, killing 18 people and wounding dozens of others.
State news agency SANA reported on Monday that Syrian air defences "confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region", damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control.
Four people were initially reported killed, but Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash later said later on Monday the death toll had risen to 18, with about 40 others wounded.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said there were 25 fatalities, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.
But Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel claimed the victims were "mostly civilians" and that they were targeted. He added that the strikes had caused significant damage to water and electricity infrastructure.
Health Minister al-Ghabbash described the attack as "barbaric aggression" from Israel.
Military research centre hit
Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, SANA said.
Two regional intelligence sources said a major military research centre for chemical weapons production located near Masyaf was hit several times.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one of the strikes targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf and others struck sites where "Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria".
Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartus, which the observatory said were the result of air defence missiles falling.
[DW]There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.
Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has been clashing with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — an ally of Hezbollah — in Gaza.
Since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Israel has escalated its strikes on Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria and also struck Syrian army air defences and some Syrian forces.
In the most high-profile attack on Syria since the war in Gaza began, suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in April, a strike that Iran said killed seven military advisers, including three senior commanders.
ABC/wires
