On 13 November, the Israeli air force launched multiple missile strikes targeting a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) military location in Homs governorate, with massive explosions reported in the vicinity of the Shayrat airfield.

“At approximately 18:23, Israeli warplanes conducted an air aggression from northern Lebanon direction, targeting the Shayrat military base, as our defenses succeeded in intercepting some of the incoming missiles, leaving two soldiers dead, three others injured as well as material damages,” a military source told SANA in a statement.

VIDEO: Syrian air defense intercepts Israeli missile launched from Northern Lebanon pic.twitter.com/P51mC4Uzz3

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) November 13, 2022

Lebanese media outlets published several cellphone videos showing Israeli jet fighters soaring over the coastal cities of Chekka and Betrun in the country’s north.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claimed a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah and Iran-affiliated groups was targeted in the airstrikes.

Sunday’s strikes come four days after a deadly attack in eastern Syria hit two tankers while transporting oil from Iraq toward the Syrian territories.

Shayrat airbase was previously targeted in March 2020 by Israel. In April 2017, the base was hit with 59 US Tomahawk cruise missiles that caused extensive damage.

Former US President Donald Trump ordered the missile strikes on Shayrat after on the heels of reports that suggested dozens were killed and hundreds of others injured in chemical strikes at Idlib’s Khan Sheikhoun.

Two months ago, five Syrian soldiers were killed in an Israeli missile attack near Damascus airport. Israeli raids in June also caused Damascus and Aleppo airports to be out of service for about two weeks.

Israel rarely confirms being behind these attacks but often reiterates that it will continue to confront what it describes as “Iran’s attempts to establish its military presence” near the borders of occupied Palestine.