Heavy Israeli strikes reported overnight in Syrian coastal city of Latakia

Screen capture from video purporting to show explosions in the Syrian port city of Latakia, March 27, 2025. (X: Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Israeli jets bombed Syria’s Latakia port area overnight, with massive blasts rocking the area, according to Syrian and Lebanese media reports early Thursday.

Israeli airstrikes were also reported in Lebanon, including what the Israel Defense Forces said was an attack on a group of Hezbollah operatives and a second strike that reportedly killed one man.

Syria’s official SANA news agency reported that several airstrikes hit the Latakia port and the coastal city.

Israel’s military did not comment on the alleged strikes.

Sources told Lebanon’s Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen news outlet that jets hit several military positions in the port that are used by foreign factions linked to the Syrian Defense Ministry, including from Chechnya and Uzbekistan.

Sources also told Al Mayadeen that there were loud explosions at the same time north of Quneitra in the Syrian Golan Heights, where Israeli troops have been operating since late last year.

Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime to Islamist-led rebels in December, Israel has vowed to destroy weapons in Syria it fears could fall into the hands of “hostile forces” that may seek to attack it. Israeli troops have also been stationed inside the buffer zone along the Israel-Syria border, which was manned by UN peacekeepers until the fall of Assad’s regime in December 2024.

On Tuesday, Israel said it bombed targets at two airbases in Syria.

The strikes in Syria have drawn condemnation and concern, including from Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the European Union.

In southern Lebanon, the IDF confirmed carrying out an airstrike Thursday morning on a group of Hezbollah operatives identified as moving weapons around in the Yohmor area.

Lebanese media reports casualties in the strike.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a man was killed in a separate alleged Israeli drone strike in the southern town of Maaroub, near Tyre.

Images from the scene show the destroyed vehicle in flames.

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Hezbollah operatives and members of affiliated terror groups since a ceasefire in November, following two months of open war aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Iran-backed group that plagued the north for nearly a year.

The terror group started firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities and military posts on October 8, 2023, in support of fellow terror group Hamas, which had invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip a day earlier.

Israel says it targets Hezbollah military sites that violate the ceasefire agreement.

Strikes on Sunday and Monday killed Hezbollah members.

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was obligated to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south, while the Lebanese army deployed to control the area.

Israel, in parallel, was obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, though it retains the right to respond to immediate threats.

Following an initial postponement, with US and Lebanese approval, of the deadline to withdraw, Israel pulled all its troops out of Lebanon in February, except five strategic posts along the border.