Israeli Airstrikes Target Defense Facilities and Research Center in Aleppo, Syria
Click to start listening
Damascus, Jan 3 (NationPress) A multitude of explosions shook southern Aleppo province in Syria as Israeli warplanes executed airstrikes on defense factories and a research facility, as reported by local media and a war monitoring organization.
The regional news source, al-Watan Online, indicated that several blasts echoed throughout Al-Safira city, where the defense installations are situated. The report further mentioned that the strikes targeted a scientific research center located on the outskirts of the city, according to Xinhua news agency.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitoring entity, verified the occurrence of at least seven significant explosions, stating that Israeli aircraft bombarded both the Al-Safira defense factories and a research center.
No immediate reports of injuries or fatalities have surfaced.
This recent assault, as noted by the observatory, raises the count of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian soil to 498 since the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in early December of the previous year.
Previously, on December 30, the death toll from a powerful blast at a Syrian weapons depot near the Adra Industrial City in rural Damascus had increased to 11, with most victims believed to be civilians, as reported by a war monitoring group.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local news sources, search and rescue teams remain at the site to recover bodies and clear the wreckage.
The explosion propelled debris into the air and inflicted considerable damage to the facility associated with the now-ousted Bashar al-Assad's administration, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Initial reports suggested at least two fatalities, but the death toll continued to escalate throughout the day.
A video shared online depicted extensive destruction and multiple casualties.
UN Secretary-General Guterres emphasized that both Israel and Syria must adhere to the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which remains in effect.
"This is a decisive moment — a moment of hope and history, but also one of great uncertainty," the UN Chief conveyed to reporters.
The observatory mentioned that the suspected air raid is part of Israel's ongoing campaign to eliminate remnants of the former regime's weaponry.
This episode follows a series of reported Israeli assaults on sites linked to the former regime, as Syria's new administration solidifies its authority after the collapse of the previous government on December 8.
