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Rabat – Israeli airstrikes targeting the northern Syrian city of Aleppo have claimed the lives of at least 38 people, including five members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, Reuters quoted security sources as saying.
The strikes, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, hit several areas in Aleppo’s countryside. The attack caused significant loss of life to both civilian and military personnel.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attacks occurred at around 1:45 AM local time. It added that a combination of Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks from Idlib and western rural Aleppo had resulted in the deaths of both civilians and military personnel.
The Israeli drone attacks “occurred simultaneously with drone attacks carried out by terrorist organizations from Idlib and western rural Aleppo, in an attempt to target civilians in the city of Aleppo and its surroundings,” according to the statement.
While the ministry did not specify the exact breakdown of casualties between the Israeli airstrikes and the attacks by militant groups, it condemned the aggression for causing substantial loss of life and harm to public and private property.
The strikes come in the wake of escalating tensions in the region amid persisting Israeli aggression in Gaza.
Israel has previously stated that its attacks in Syria target bases of Iranian-backed militias. Hezbollah, a prominent ally of Iran, has extended its influence across various regions in Syria.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli attack targeted an area “near rocket depots belonging to Lebanese group Hezbollah,” France 24 reported.
The Israeli occupation’s ongoing war in Gaza has intensified tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border.
In a recent incident, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel in retaliation following an Israeli strike on a medical center in southern Lebanon that resulted in the death of seven people. According to Israeli media, one of the rockets launched by Hezbollah killed a construction worker.
