Syrian air defences intercepted an Israeli attack on several areas in northwestern Syria, including the port city of Latakia, along the Mediterranean coast, killing one person and wounding six, Syrian state media said.
The Israeli dawn attack on Wednesday also hit the city of Hifa, east of Latakia, and Masyaf in Hama province.
The SANA news agency quoted an unnamed military source as saying that the attack took place at 02:18 on the southwest of Latakia and other ‘coastal areas’.
“Our air defense units confronted the aggression’s missiles and dropped some of them,” he said.
Earlier, state media reported explosions near Latakia, which were heard by residents in the city and its suburbs.
According to state media reports, a civilian plastic factory in Latakia was hit and material damage was done.
The wounded in the attack were all civilians, and among them was a woman and her son, SANA reported.
Latakia is a Syrian government stronghold and is the ancestral home of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Israel has launched hundreds of attacks over the years against what it calls Iran-linked military targets, but rarely recognizes such operations.
It was the first Israeli attack on Syria since a missile fired by Damascus struck deep inside Israel two weeks ago. The missile landed in southern Israel on April 22, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes on the rocket launcher and other targets in Syria.
Iran was a key ally of the al-Assad government during the civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and broke out after the brutal repression of protests against the government.
Al-Assad’s government has never publicly acknowledged that Iranian forces are acting on its behalf in Syria’s civil war.
According to Western information sources, Israel has intensified a so-called ‘shadow war’ over Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent months, which says the raids are mainly aimed at weapons development research centers and military convoys moving missiles from Lebanon to Syria. .
According to the United Kingdom’s Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Israeli attacks in Syria have already killed dozens of government and allied fighters in recent months.
In February, the Syrian army said the country’s air defense had intercepted “Israeli aggression” over Damascus. The attacks killed at least nine government fighters, a war monitor in Britain said at the time.
An attack by Israeli forces on various areas in Syria in January killed ten Syrian soldiers and at least 47 allied fighters.
The proxy militias of Iran led by the Hezbollah of Lebanon are now hovering over vast areas in eastern, southern and northwestern Syria, as well as several suburbs around Damascus.