Israel carried out air strikes on government-held positions in Syria on Saturday afternoon, state news agency SANA said, without reporting casualties.
“The Israeli enemy launched an airstrike from north Lebanon, targeting several positions in the central region,” SANA reported, citing a military source.
The news agency said air defenses had been activated and intercepted some of the Israeli missiles over Hama province. He said the damage from the attacks is still being assessed.
Syria regularly claims to intercept Israeli missiles, although military analysts doubt such claims.
The Israeli military generally does not comment on specific attacks in Syria, but has admitted to conducting hundreds of sorties against Iran-backed groups trying to gain a foothold in the country. It says it is also attacking shipments of arms thought to be destined for these groups.
According to local reports, explosions were seen near the town of Masyaf and nearby areas in western government-controlled Hama province. Photos posted to social media showed large plumes of smoke in the area.
While alleged Israeli attacks in Syria usually take place under cover of darkness, the attack took place around 6:45 p.m. Saturday, while the sun was still rising, according to SANA.
The Masyaf area, believed to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, has repeatedly been the target of attacks largely blamed on Israel in recent years.
The area is also home to a Center for Scientific Studies and Research facility known as CERS, which itself has been attacked on numerous occasions in the past.
Western officials have long linked CERS to chemical weapons production. According to the United States, sarin gas was developed at this facility, a claim disputed by the Syrian authorities.
In early March, Israeli attacks near Damascus killed two officers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army. The guards vowed to avenge the killings and subsequently launched attacks on a supposed Israeli “strategic center” in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes inside the country, targeting Iranian forces and Iran-allied terrorist groups, particularly along the Golan border, such as Hezbollah’s Lebanese, which has fighters stationed in the south Syria.