Israeli strikes in Syria kill 4, damage highway, claims state media

A series of Israeli strikes hit multiple areas in central Syria late Sunday, killing at least four people, wounding 13 and sparking fires, state media reported.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses "confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region," damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control early Monday.

At least four dead and 13 wounded people arrived at the Masyaf Hospital in western Hamas province, SANA said, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar. It was not immediately clear if they were civilians or militants.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported that one of the strikes targeted a scientific research center in Maysaf and other sites where "Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria." Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups. Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been clashing with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — an ally of Hezbollah — in Gaza.