Israel has reportedly launched fresh airstrikes in Syria tonight, plunging the Middle East into further crisis and sparking fears of all-out war.
A fresh blitz was said to be underway in the port city of Tartus, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
It followed airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon just hours after the international community called for calm in the region.
Joe Biden had said earlier: “We’ve been determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region.
“A diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security.”
But reports said the situation had deteriorated even further, with Syrian air defences intercepting eight targets off Tartus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence, said multiple explosions were heard over the city.
A video posted on X showed flashes in the sky but it was unclear if any bombs landed.
It’s not the first time Syria has been struck this month. On September 9, Israel launched deadly attacks on several military sites, killing at least 16 people.
The Syrian state news agency Sana cited a hospital director saying dozens were wounded in the vicinity of Masyaf in the Hama province.
Israel’s widening of its military action is seen as a response to cross-border attacks on its northern territories by Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon and Syria.
The death toll from Israeli strikes in Lebanon this week has climbed to 558, including 50 children and 94 women, health chiefs there said.
Among the dead was Ibrahim Qubaisi, who led the Iran-backed group’s rocket and missile division, and another senior figure, Ibrahim Aqil, in the capital’s suburbs.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces, insisted military chiefs were “not looking for wars” but would do “whatever is necessary” to ensure Israel‘s security.
He later clarified the army was at “full-scale readiness”, meaning an invasion of Lebanon could be on the cards.