SOHR: Israeli missile strike on coastal area

Syrian state television reported that the Israeli army attacked several positions in Tartus province without giving further details. The TV said the missiles were fired by warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the Israeli attack targeted a Syrian army air defense base in the Abu Afsa area. It added that Iranian-backed fighters are mostly in the base.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

However, Israel has acknowledged that it is targeting bases of Iran-affiliated militant groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, which sent thousands of fighters to fight alongside the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In June, Israeli airstrikes temporarily shut down Damascus International Airport.