Israeli jets strike airport near Homs — Syrian media

The Israeli military launched a number of missiles at targets near the central Syrian city of Homs late Wednesday night, according to Syrian state media reports.

The official SANA news outlet said that IDF jets fired on the T-4 Syrian military airbase, the largest in the country, from positions near the Syrian-Iraqi border to the east.

“Our air defenses responded and intercepted most of the rockets,” the report said, adding that there were no casualties.

The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the reported strikes, in accordance with its policy.

The reported strikes come two days after Israel was said to have launched missiles at targets in Syria’s south, killing at least three people.

That appeared to be the first reported Israeli airstrike on targets in Syria since a July 20 attack, in which a Hezbollah fighter was killed, prompting the Lebanese terror group to vow revenge for his death and sparking as yet unresolved tensions.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces, and fighters from the Lebanese Shiite terror group, Hezbollah.

It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria, but says Iran’s presence in support of President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah is a threat and that it will continue its strikes.

Following the July 20 strike in which a Hezbollah fighter was killed, the Israeli military went on high alert along the Lebanese border, bracing for an attack by the group. According to the IDF, the terror group has attempted to exact its revenge against Israeli troops a number of times in the ensuing weeks, including with a failed sniper attack last Tuesday night.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Sunday that his group would kill an Israeli soldier in retaliation for the death of its operative in Syria the month before in order to establish “deterrence” against Israel.

AFP contributed to this report.