War observers: Israeli attacks in central Syria kill seven people and injure 15 others

At least seven people, including three civilians, were killed in Israeli strikes in central Syria late Sunday evening, a war observer reported.

Since the civil war in Syria began in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes there, particularly against pro-Iranian groups.

“The death toll from the Israeli strikes on the Masyaf region is seven, namely three civilians, including a man and his son who were in a car, and four unidentified soldiers,” said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has an extensive network of sources in the country.

At least 15 other people were injured in the attack and military facilities in the area were destroyed, the observatory said.

“Thirteen powerful explosions occurred in the area of ​​scientific research centers in Masyaf, where pro-Iranian groups and weapons development experts are located,” the group said in an earlier statement.

Earlier, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported five dead and 19 injured near Masyaf, citing a medical source.

“On Sunday at around 23:20 (2020 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an airstrike from northwestern Lebanon on a number of military sites in the central region,” Sana reported, citing a military source.

“Our air defenses have shot down some missiles.”

Israeli airstrikes on Syria have intensified since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual attacks in Syria, but have repeatedly stated that they would not allow their arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence there.

At the end of August, three pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the central Homs region in attacks attributed to Israel, the Observatory reported.

A few days later, the Israeli military announced that it had killed an unspecified number of fighters from the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad in an attack in Syria near the Lebanese border.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.