Syria’s military reported that an Israeli airstrike in the coastal city of Latakia early Thursday resulted in injuries to two civilians and damage to a military installation.
This incident, approximately 100 kilometers north of the Lebanese border, is part of Israel’s ongoing operations targeting military locations in Syria associated with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In recent weeks, these operations have intensified, coinciding with a year marked by frequent cross-border hostilities.
The situation in Lebanon is dire, with official reports indicating that over 2,300 casualties have occurred over the past year, and 77% of public schools are currently out of operation, either repurposed as shelters or located in conflict-zones.
The escalation in violence can be traced back to October 7, 2023, when militants from Hamas breached Israel’s border security, leading to the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, along with the abduction of around 250 others. In response, Israel’s military actions in Gaza have reportedly resulted in over 42,000 Palestinian deaths, according to local health officials, although they do not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants. The conflict has devastated vast regions of Gaza and has displaced nearly 90% of its 2.3 million residents.
On another note, Israel’s military announced that it facilitated the entry of 50 trucks of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza on Wednesday. This move followed urging from the United States, which cautioned Israel to enhance its aid efforts or jeopardize its military funding. The area has witnessed extensive damage and has been under a complete blockade by Israeli forces for nearly a year.
In related news, Syrian military sources confirmed that Israel conducted a strike early Thursday, which resulted in two civilian injuries and damage to a military post. The details of the attack remain sparse, as reported by state media.
Israel frequently targets military sites in Syria that are linked to Iran and Hezbollah, with the frequency of these strikes increasing alongside escalated firefights along the Lebanon-Israel border that began in October 2023. Hezbollah has engaged in attacks against Israeli positions to support the Palestinian cause and its ally, Hamas.
Tensions escalated in recent weeks, leading to Israel launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on October 1.
In another part of the region, long-range American B-2 stealth bombers executed airstrikes early Thursday targeting underground bunkers utilized by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The extent of the damage from these strikes is not yet clear.
This marks a notable moment, as the B-2 Spirit had not been previously involved in strikes against the Houthis, a group that has been actively attacking maritime vessels in the Red Sea amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Yemen’s al-Masirah satellite news channel, affiliated with the Houthis, reported airstrikes around the capital, Sanaa, which the group has controlled since 2014, as well as near Saada, their stronghold. No details surrounding damage or casualties were immediately available.
In a statement, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the B-2 bombers targeted five fortified underground weapons storage sites within Houthi territories. This military action also serves as an implicit reprimand to Iran, the Houthis’ principal ally, which has launched ballistic missile strikes against Israel on two separate occasions in the last year. The B-2, a nuclear-capable aircraft first deployed in 1999, is seldom involved in combat due to its significant value, estimated at around $1 billion per unit.
