Israel Airstrikes on Syria... 2 Dead, 6 Injured

Israel conducted an airstrike on an air defense base on Syria's western coast, killing 2 soldiers and injuring 6.

According to Al Jazeera and other sources on the 14th (local time), an Israeli fighter jet carried out the airstrike targeting the air defense base in Tartus, western Syria, over the Mediterranean at 5:22 p.m. the previous day.

The Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported that 2 soldiers were killed and 6 were injured in the attack.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a civil war monitoring group, stated that Israel's attack also targeted Hezbollah's weapons depot in Syria.

They also reported that, in addition to the 2 Syrian soldiers, one unidentified combatant was killed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that the Israeli military additionally struck a scientific research center in the mountainous area of the village of Taqsis in Hama province the previous evening, with no casualties reported.

On July 2nd (local time), security officials in Rahat, Israel, examine the debris of a Syrian surface-to-air missile that exploded in the air.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

On the 28th of last month, Aleppo International Airport, Syria's second-largest city, was also damaged by an Israeli airstrike, causing the runway to be damaged and operations to be suspended.

Israel, which has carried out intermittent airstrikes for several years to prevent Iran's expanding influence in war-torn Syria, has recently focused its attacks mainly on airports and airbases.

However, the Associated Press reported that Israel has never acknowledged or confirmed these attacks.

Israel maintains that it cannot allow pro-Iran armed forces to be stationed in Syria, which borders Israel.

Iran is a key ally of the Assad regime in Syria and has been increasing its influence by continuously supporting the Syrian government forces since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.