Israeli airstrikes in Syria reportedly hit a scientific research center this week, amid ongoing heightened tensions throughout the Middle East.
On Monday, state-run media in Syria reported that Israel carried out several airstrikes in the country including ones at a scientific research center near the city of Maysaf.
"The death toll increased to 25 people, including five civilians, four regime soldiers, two members of the Lebanese Hezbollah of Syrian nationality, 11 Syrians working with the Iranian militias and three unidentified persons, in addition to the injury of at least 32 others, as a result of the intensive Israeli strikes that targeted scientific research in Musyaf city, a site on Musyaf-Wadi Al-Ouyun road, a site in Hayr Abbas area in Musyaf city, two sites in Al-Rawi village and air defense factories south-southwest of Musyaf near Al-Bayda village," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement on Monday.
"Officers from forces in the area working in the Scientific Research Centre confirmed to SOHR that the center is unrelated to chemical weapons and that officers from the Iranian 'Revolutionary Guard' have been present there for six years in the framework of developing short- and medium-range precision missiles, and during the current year, the line of developing drones joined it," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added.
Israeli airstrikes targeted several locations in central Syria late Sunday, causing damage to a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, according to Syria's state news agency, SANA. The Masyaf National Hospital in western Hama reported an initial death toll of four.
SANA, quoting hospital director Faysal Haydar, reported that 14 people were killed and 43 wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, stated that at least four of the victims were civilians.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment. In recent years, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled areas of war-torn Syria, though it rarely acknowledges these operations. The strikes typically focus on Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.
Israel has pledged to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria, viewing the country as a crucial corridor for Iran to supply weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been engaged in a war with Hamas militants in parts of Gaza, after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding more than 100 hostages, with Israeli authorities estimating that about a third of them have been killed.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its reporting. The ministry also states that more than 94,000 people have been wounded since the conflict began.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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