Syria says Israeli airstrike kills 4 civilians, wounds 21

Israeli warplanes attacked military positions in central Syria early Monday, with a missile near Damascus killing four civilians and wounding 21, Syrian state media reported.

Israeli warplanes fired missiles from Lebanese airspace targeting military positions in the central province of Homs and suburbs of the capital, said Syrian state news agency SANA, adding that Syrian air defense forces opened fire toward the Israeli missiles.

SANA said the dead included a baby and that other children were among the wounded in the town of Sahnaya, southwest of Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said 15 people were killed in the airstrike, including six civilians and nine pro-government fighters. It said the dead fighters included one Syrian and the others were foreigners, most likely Iranians or members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

“The city shook in the middle of the night,” a Damascus resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its Shiite proxies operating in neighboring Syria. But in recent months, military and political leaders have become increasingly outspoken about these activities. On June 12, Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian army position in the country’s south.

The militant Palestinian group Hamas condemned what it called “blatant Israeli aggression” against Syria, calling Israel “the largest threat not only to the Palestinians, but to the whole region.”