The Israeli air force struck a weapons depot near the town of Qardaha in Latakia province in northwestern Syria. According to the Israeli army, the facility was intended to store weapons used by the Syrian armed forces under former President Bashar al-Assad.
„In light of recent events in the area in question, the decision was made to attack the military infrastructure. We continue to monitor developments in the area and will act if necessary to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,“ the military added.
At this time, the cause of the explosion is unknown, Reuters specifies.
Qardaha is located in a mountainous area 30 km east of the coastal city of Latakia, the administrative center of the province of the same name. The majority of the population of Qardaha are Alawites. It is the ancestral village of the Assad family, where the mausoleum of former President of the Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad, who ruled the country from 1971 to 2000, was built. The tomb also contains the remains of Hafez al-Assad's wife, Anissa Makhlouf, and his eldest son, Basil, who died in a car accident in 1994. On December 11, 2024 an armed crowd entered the mausoleum and set fire to Hafez al-Assad's sarcophagus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that this was a temporary defensive measure aimed at preventing potential threats to his country in the Syrian direction. At the same time, he stressed that the troops would remain there until the Jewish state received guarantees of security on this border.
Three people were killed and at least 20 were injured in an explosion in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA, citing information from the Syrian state agency today.