1 week Ago
Welcome back to World Brief, where we're looking at a suspected Israeli attack on Syria , Venezuela 's former opposition candidate fleeing to Spain , and a devastating storm in Vietnam . Welcome back to World Brief, where we're looking at a suspected Israeli attack on Syria, Venezuela's former opposition candidate fleeing to Spain, and a devastating storm in Vietnam. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.
Strikes on Syria Overnight airstrikes killed at least 18 people in Syria's Tartus and Hama governorates, Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash said on Monday. Nearly 40 others were wounded, including six critically—making it one of the deadliest attacks on Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began last October. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based war monitor, placed the death toll even higher at 25 people, including at least five civilians.
Israel is widely believed to be responsible for the operation; the Israeli military declined to comment on foreign reports. Israel has regularly targeted military sites in Syria linked to Iran and Hezbollah, accusing Tehran of using Syria to transport Iranian weapons to the Lebanon-based militant group, which—like Iran—is allied with Hamas. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the Israeli military has launched more than 180 strikes on Syria since Hamas's Oct.
7, 2023, attack on Israel. The overnight assault reportedly targeted military sites, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying on Monday that strikes hit a scientific research institute in the Syrian city of Masyaf that worked on "developing short- and medium-range precision missiles." Syrian officials, however, said the attack hit civilian targets, including a highway in Masyaf.
The strikes caused "truly significant" damage to water and electricity infrastructure, Electricity Minister Mohammad al-Zamel said. A Syrian military source told state media that Syrian air defenses..
. Alexandra Sharp.
