Israeli Airstrikes Target Sites In Western Syria, Kill One

Israeli airstrikes have reportedly struck western Syria, with one civilian killed in the first such attack on the country in nearly a month.

Reports by the Israeli military and Syrian state media indicated that the attack follows announcement of indirect talks between Damascus and Israel aimed at reducing tensions between the long-term antagonists

Earlier this month Damascus had announced indirect talks with Israel to calm tensions, and the US called for a “non-aggression agreement” between the two countries, which are technically at war.

According to Agence France-Press in Damascus, the state television reported that “A strike from Israeli occupation aircraft targeted sites close to the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside south of Latakia. “

State news agency Sana further confirmed that one civilian was killed “as a result of an Israeli occupation airstrike targeting the vicinity of Zama”.

On their part, the Israeli military said it had “struck weapon storage facilities containing coastal missiles that posed a threat to international and Israeli maritime freedom of navigation, in the Latakia area of Syria”.

“In addition, components of surface-to-air missiles were struck,” it said, adding it would “continue to operate to maintain freedom of action in the region, in order to carry out its missions and will act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile reported that jets likely to be Israeli struck military sites on the outskirts of Tartus and Latakia.

Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and has carried out hundreds of strikes and several incursions since the overthrow of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities said the strikes aim to stop advanced weapons reaching Syria’s new authorities, which it considers jihadists. – With agency reports