Civilians among 18 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Syria

At least 18 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Syria’s Hama province, Syria’s health minister has said.

- HOLLY EVANS & ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

It was the deadliest Israeli attack reported by Syrian authorities since the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus was hit in April, which sparked a barrage of drones and missiles from Tehran in response.

Speaking to reporters, Syrian health minister Hassan alGhabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded, several critically.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 people were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups. It said 13 explosions rang out in the zone housing scientific research centres in Masyaf “where pro-Iranian groups and weapons development experts are present”.

Syrian air defences “confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region”, the SANA news agency reported.