Israeli warplanes launched multiple airstrikes across Syria late Monday, targeting strategic locations in at least three major cities, according to Syrian and international monitoring groups.
The coordinated strikes, reported on Tuesday, struck the outskirts of Homs in central Syria, the coastal city of Latakia, and the ancient desert city of Palmyra.
Residents in those cities said loud explosions shook neighborhoods, sending civilians into panic, though initial reports did not immediately confirm the number of casualties or the scale of the damage.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a swift condemnation, describing the air raids as “a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.”
Officials said the actions undermined Syria’s sovereignty, posed risks to regional stability, and called upon the United Nations Security Council to intervene to halt what it described as “repeated and systematic Israeli aggression.”
Independent monitoring groups also began piecing together details of the strikes. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that one of the attacks targeted a Syrian air force battalion southeast of Homs.
According to its sources, the raid resulted in casualties among military personnel, though exact numbers remain unclear.
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The Observatory further noted that Israeli jets carried out two additional strikes on a military barracks in Latakia, a coastal stronghold that has long been a hub for Syrian military and allied forces. Ambulances were reportedly seen rushing to the site shortly after the explosions.
In Palmyra, an ancient city with both cultural significance and strategic positioning in the Syrian desert, local sources confirmed multiple blasts but details of the targets remain unverified.
The organization also reported that Israeli aircraft entered southern Syrian airspace during the operation, underscoring the extent of the cross-border activity.
Israel, as is customary, has not issued an immediate comment on the strikes. However, in past incidents, the Israeli government has justified similar raids as necessary to counter Iranian-linked forces and weapons transfers to Hezbollah operating within Syria.
Analysts suggest that these latest strikes fit a broader pattern of Israel’s military campaign to prevent Iranian entrenchment on Syrian soil.
The Syrian government, for its part, has repeatedly accused Israel of exploiting the ongoing instability in the country to conduct unilateral military operations.
Officials in Damascus argue that the repeated nature of these strikes reflects not just military aggression but also a political attempt to weaken Syria’s sovereignty and undermine its territorial integrity.
The escalation adds to already heightened tensions in the Middle East, where conflict in Gaza, strained Lebanon-Israel relations, and U.S. military presence in eastern Syria have created a volatile environment.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Syrian state media continued to assess the extent of the destruction while humanitarian groups warned that renewed airstrikes could complicate ongoing relief operations in parts of the country still struggling with the aftershocks of years of war.
The UN Security Council has not yet issued a response, but Syria’s appeal for international intervention will likely trigger fresh debates about accountability, sovereignty, and security in the region.
NAN
