An Israeli drone attack targeted and destroyed a weapons depot in the coastal Syrian city of Jableh before dawn on Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The assault involved both drones and missile strikes, which leveled the depot and triggered massive explosions heard from miles away, reported the UK-based watchdog group. Syrian air defenses and Russian forces reportedly responded to the attack within 40 to 50 minutes.
The weapons depot is located near the Hmeimim Air Base, the largest Russian air base in Syria, situated in the northwestern province of Latakia. No immediate reports of casualties have emerged, as noted by the Xinhua news agency.
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Although there is no official confirmation, pro-government Sham FM radio suggested that the sounds heard in the skies over Jableh were air defenses intercepting targets offshore. Firefighting teams were dispatched to the area after columns of fire were observed rising from the site, though no details about the nature of the fire were provided.
This latest strike follows a series of Israeli airstrikes in Syria earlier this week. On Wednesday, two Lebanese nationals, including Hassan Jafar Qasir, the son-in-law of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, died in an Israeli airstrike on a residence in the Mazzeh Western Villas neighborhood of Damascus.
Additionally, a missile strike on Tuesday hit a site about 500 meters from Wednesday’s target, resulting in the deaths of three individuals, including a journalist, and injuring nine others.
Israel frequently conducts airstrikes in Syria, claiming to target positions linked to Iran and Hezbollah.