Israeli airstrikes on Syria's Aleppo province early Friday morning killed more than 40 people, including members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and a large number of Syrian soldiers, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes, which hit missile depots near Aleppo's international airport and a nearby town housing a military facility, represent the deadliest Israeli raids on Syria in months and a significant escalation in Israel's campaign against Iran's proxies in the region.
Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria, indicate that at least 36 Syrian soldiers and six Hezbollah fighters were among those killed in the strikes, with dozens more wounded. "It is worth noting that this is the highest death toll ever among regime forces in a single Israeli attack in Syrian territory," the group stated.
Syria's defense ministry confirmed the strikes, saying they hit several areas in the southeastern part of Aleppo province at about 1:45 a.m. local time (22:45 GMT on Thursday) and killed a number of civilians and military personnel. The ministry added that the airstrikes coincided with drone attacks carried out from Idlib and western rural Aleppo by "terrorist organisations" against civilians in Aleppo and its surroundings.
While the Israeli military declined to comment on the reports, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on targets in Syria since the civil war began there in 2011, seeking to cut off Hezbollah supply routes to Lebanon. The frequency of these strikes has increased since Israel's war in Gaza began after the October 7 Hamas attacks, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, and the taking of about 250 hostages.
Israel and Hezbollah have also been trading fire across Lebanon's southern border in the biggest escalation since they fought a month-long war in 2006. More than 270 Hezbollah fighters and 50 civilians, including medics and journalists, have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, while about a dozen Israeli troops and half as many civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
In addition to the airstrikes in Syria, Israel said it killed Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, the deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missiles unit, in an airstrike in the area of Bazouriye in Lebanon. The Israeli military described Naim as one of the Iranian-backed militia's leaders in heavy-warhead rocket fire and said he was responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians.
Tehran and its proxies have entrenched themselves across Syria, including around Aleppo and the capital Damascus. Israel has repeatedly struck international airports in both cities over the years to disrupt weapons flows to Iran's allies in the region, but strikes since October 7 have been deadlier and prompted Iran to withdraw some of its top officers from Syria.
Three security sources told Reuters that 33 Syrians and five Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the strikes, with one of the Hezbollah fighters being a local field commander whose brother had been killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon in November.
As the conflict in Gaza continues, Israeli Air Force pilots have stepped up practicing long-range strikes across the northern border, focusing on increasing readiness for war in the northern arena and other areas during prolonged combat. The drills include rehearsing for "massive, long-range strikes, flying deep into enemy territory," according to a military statement.
