TEHRAN: Iran has accused Israel of carrying out what it called a “criminal” strike in central Syria, where official media reported that airstrikes killed around 14 people.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told a news conference in Tehran that they strongly condemned this criminal assault by “the Zionist regime” on Syrian soil. The spokesman has called on Israel’s backers to stop supporting and arming Israel.
Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported that Israeli strikes have killed around 14 people in central Hama province of Syria. SANA, quoting a source, said: “The number of martyrs resulting from the Israeli attacks on a number of spots in the vicinity of Masyaf has risen to fourteen martyrs and 43 injured including 6 critically.”
Earlier, The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli strikes in central Syria killed around seven people late Sunday, including three civilians, a war monitor said. Israel has conducted hundreds of attacks there, targeting pro-Iranian groups in particular since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 15 people were injured in the attack.
The group stated in an earlier statement that 13 violent blasts rang out in Masyaf where pro-Iranian groups and arms development experts are present. The Syrian official news agency Sana had earlier reported 5 killed and nineteen injured near Masyaf, citing a source. “About 11:20 p.m. (2020 GMT) on Sunday, the Israeli enemy conducted an airstrike from the northwest of Lebanon targeting a number of military sites in the central region,” Sana reported, quoting a military source. “Our air defense shot down various missiles.”
Israeli air attacks in Syria have also intensified since the October 7 Hamas surprise attack on Israel. Israeli officials rarely comment on individual attacks in Syria, but have repeatedly stated that they will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.
Earlier, in August, three pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the central region of Homs in attacks attributed to Israel, according to the Observatory.
