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The Telegraph
Israel ‘launches attack in Syria’ after low-flying planes terrorized Beirut residents
Israel was reported to have launched airstrikes on military targets in Syria last night after warplanes flew low over Lebanon, terrorizing local residents. The Syrian Arab state news agency (SANA) cited a military source as blaming Israeli “aggression” for launching a “missile barrage” from north of the Lebanese city of Tripoli towards Masyaf, in the Syrian province of Hama. The source claimed that most of the missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defenses, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said a missile warehouse and factories had been destroyed, with ” at least “six casualties. Explosions were reported after midnight in the area around Masyaf, northwest of Homs, which is an important military area for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, containing a military academy and a scientific research center believed to be which was used to create chemical weapons. The Israeli military said it would not comment on the foreign media reports, but has reportedly launched dozens of attacks against Iranian militias and other targets in Syria in recent years, with planes regularly crossing Lebanese airspace. Witnesses said the Christmas Eve flights were louder than usual, however, scaring Beirut residents who are still traumatized by the August 4 blast at the city’s port that killed more than 200 people. The catastrophic explosion, which destroyed large areas of the city, came after a fire ignited a large amount of ammonium nitrate. Tamara Qiblawi, a CNN producer based in the Lebanese capital, shared a video that apparently shows “illegal overflights” of four Israeli planes. “You hear them very often here, but you rarely see them,” he added. “It was an exceptionally low altitude. The houses shook. The cats got scared. Chills down people’s spines. “Citing” reliable sources, “the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the” Israeli strikes were targeting military posts of regime forces and Iranian militias. “Syrian activists observed ambulances being pulled over. They were rushing to the scene of the explosions and the dead were all foreign paramilitaries loyal to President Assad, he added. One attack also targeted the research center, where land attack missiles are developed and stored, and which has been hit several times by attacks Israelis in recent years, the Observatory said. The most recent attack in June killed nine people, including four Syrians. The US military has previously claimed that sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent, was being developed at the center. which the Syrian authorities have denied. According to the SANA report, the air defenses hit “most” of the missiles before s that they reached their goal. “Our air defenses intercepted an Israeli attack in the Masyaf area,” he said.
