Israeli strike said to target weapons depot in Syria’s Latakia

Screen grab from a video on social media said to show the aftermath of an alleged Israeli strike on a target in Latakia, Syria, October 17, 2024 (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Syrian state media said Thursday an Israeli air strike hit the coastal city of Latakia, targeting a weapons depot according to a war monitor.

Two people were injured and buildings were damaged, state media reported citing a military statement.

SANA claimed that Syrian anti-aircraft defense intercepted “hostile targets” in the skies above Latakia.

The news agency reported “fires were triggered by the Israeli aggression” at the entrance to Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad.

Video circulated on social media appeared to show large secondary explosions, suggesting the presence of weapons at the targeted site.

Since Hamas’s brutal October 7 massacre last year, which saw some 1,200 people killed in Israel and 251 kidnapped, Israel has escalated its strikes on Iranian-backed terror targets in Syria and has also struck Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.

The Syrian government is allied to the Hezbollah terror group, which began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’s devastating October 7 onslaught, it what it said was a show of support for Palestinians.

The Israeli military, which has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years, did not comment on the alleged Latakia strike.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of unclear funding, said the Israeli raid “targeted a weapons depot in Latakia city.”

Strikes have been rare on the port city, which is near the Russian air base in Hmeimim.

The Observatory on October 3 reported drones hit a weapons depot near Jableh, located in Latakia province next to Hmeimim.

“Huge explosions were heard from far away,” the monitor said without detailing the source of the drones.

Anti-aircraft defense systems operated by Syria and Russia, an ally of Assad, attempted to intercept the missiles according to the Observatory. Syrian state media did not report on the Jableh strikes.

The Israeli military has intensified its raids on Syria in parallel with its escalation in Lebanon, where for more than three weeks it has targeted Hezbollah bastions.

Israel has long accused Hezbollah of transferring weapons through Syria.

Last month, it was reported that Israeli special forces carried out a massive raid on an Iranian weapons facility in the Masyaf area in Syria, killing at least 14 people, wounding 43, and sparking fires.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel — which rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria — is believed to have carried out hundreds of strikes, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Hezbollah.