Alleged Israeli airstrike on Iranian-linked research center in Syria kills at least 14, dozens wounded

SOHR reports 64 IDF strikes on Syrian territory in 2024

Read this article in:

Alleged Israeli airstrikes in the vicinity of Masyaf, in Syria’s northern Hama province, killed at least 14 people and wounded around 46 others, according to the Syrian regime-affiliated news site SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency).

SANA did not specify Israel's target, however, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) noted that the airstrikes hit sites in the Hama province, including a military research institute.

Reuters cited regional intelligence sources who claimed the site is a known chemical weapons development center believed to house a team of Iranian military experts.

“At around 20:23 on Sunday, September 8, 2024, the Israeli enemy launched an airstrike from northwest Lebanon on several military positions in the central region, and our country's air defense systems responded to the attacking missiles and shot down some of them,” a military source told SANA.

SANA at first claimed that only three people were killed in the strikes, before later updating the number to 14. Meanwhile, SOHR listed the number killed as 18, including 4 civilians.

Initial reports claimed four different sites were struck in the districts of Hama, Homs, Tartus and Damascus. Later, SOHR updated the site, indicating that the Israeli strike had only targeted the military research facility near Masyaf, while the remaining impacts were apparently from Syrian air defense missiles that landed in residential areas, causing material damage to villages and farms.

SOHR recorded 64 Israeli strikes on Syrian territory in 2024, resulting in damage and destruction of about 140 targets, weapons, and ammunition depots, as well as military headquarters, research centers, and vehicles.

The opposition-linked SOHR estimates that around 205 military personnel have been killed in the strikes, and 125 others wounded, while 24 civilians have been killed, and 36 wounded.

In its breakdown of the fatalities, the observatory noted that only about 98 of the military deaths were Syrian nationals, with the majority being fighters affiliated with the Iranian regime or Hezbollah.

In a breakdown of the deaths, the observatory notes that only about 98 of the military deaths involve Syrian nationals, with the majority being Iranian or Hezbollah-affiliated fighters.

Following a longstanding policy, the IDF did not comment on reports of the airstrike. However, the Israeli government has repeatedly stated that it will attack shipments of weapons to Hezbollah that pass through Syria.

Both Iran and Russia have significantly increased their presence and influence in Syria following the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011. Iran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah even operates several units within Syrian territory, both to support its ally Bashar al-Assad, and to extend its threat capabilities against Israel.