Israeli strikes kill at least 18 people in north-west Syria

Military sites near the city of Masyaf were the targets of the attack

An image allegedly shows Israeli strikes on the Masyaf area last night which killed 14 people and wounded 43 others.The image was widely shared on social media platforms but has not been verified. Photo: XShow less

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At least 18 people were killed and 37 wounded in overnight Israeli strikes on military sites around the north-western city of Masyaf in Syria, which Israel claims is a key route used by Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The attack took place at 11.20pm local time on Sunday, state news agency Sana quoted a military source as saying. The strikes damaged the Masyaf-Wadi Al Oyoun road and caused a fire nearby. Firefighting teams were working to control the blaze, Sana reported.

Air defence systems shot down some of the missiles, Sana cited the military source as saying. Dr Faisal Haidar, director of Masyaf National Hospital, told the agency that six of the wounded were in critical condition.

Israeli air strikes on Syria have intensified since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual attacks on Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.

Sunday's attacks came as former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz said his country should turn its military focus to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Tehran and its proxy forces in the region "are the real issue" for Israel, he added.

There has been at least 64 Israeli attacks on Syrian territory since the beginning of the year, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The strikes have hit 140 targets and included "weapons and ammunition depots". At least 205 military personnel have been killed, the observatory added.

At the end of August, three pro-Iran fighters were killed in the central Syrian region of Homs in strikes attributed to Israel, the observatory said. A few days later, the Israeli military said it killed fighters belonging to Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a strike near the Syria-Lebanon border.

With reporting from agencies