Israel hits Hezbollah arms depots in Syria: war monitor

March 19, 2024 02:40 PM

Israeli raids hit warehouses storing weapons for the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Syria Tuesday, a war monitor said, as a Syrian military source said air defences had intercepted several missiles.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, targeting Iran-backed forces including Hezbollah as well as Syrian army positions.

The strikes have increased since Israel's war with Palestinian fighter group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, began on October 7.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest strikes near the capital Damascus Tuesday had destroyed weapons and ammunition, causing secondary explosions and fires.

A military source quoted by Syrian state media said Israeli "air aggression" had targeted several military positions near Damascus.

"Our air defences took action and shot down several missiles," the source added.

The Britain-based Observatory said it was the second such strike in two days, coming after raids on Sunday hit another Hezbollah weapons depot and a separate site near Damascus.

Earlier this month, an Israeli strike reportedly killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard and two other people in Banias on Syria's Mediterranean coast.

The Israeli army said last week it had hit about 4,500 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and Syria over the past five months.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in Syria.