Israeli airstrikes hit targets near the Syrian city of Aleppo early Monday morning, resulting in heavy casualties.
“The Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of southeastern Aleppo, targeting some sites in the vicinity of Aleppo,” a military source told Syria’s SANA news agency. “The aggression led to a number of martyrs and some material losses.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 12 “pro-Iranian” fighters were killed, a term it usually uses to describe Iraqi Shia militias that operate in Syria, although the SOHR said some of the dead were Syrian nationals. The SOHR said the attack targeted a factory in the town of Hayyan, north of Aleppo.
The Israeli attack came a few days after Israel bombed the coastal Syrian city of Baniyas, killing a girl and 10 other civilians. On the same day, Israeli strikes hit central Syria and reportedly killed five Shia fighters.
Israel has bombed Syria with impunity for years and has significantly increased strikes on the country since October 7. There was a brief lull in strikes following the April 1 bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which provoked the first-ever Iranian missile and drone attack on Israeli territory.