At least 16 killed, 36 wounded in Israeli air strike in Syria

Syrian media reported Monday that Israeli air strikes overnight in the central Syrian province of Hama killed at least 16 people and wounded 36 others. One source said the attack included a research center that produced chemical weapons and housed a group of Iranian military experts. Iran strongly condemned the attack.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Monday (September 9), citing military sources, reported that the Israeli army launched air strikes on a number of military sites in central Syria from northwest Lebanon at around 11:20 p.m. local time on Sunday (September 8) (4:20 a.m. Monday Singapore time).

Reports say Syrian air defenses shot down some of the incoming missiles, killing 16 people and wounding 36 others, six of them seriously. The attack also caused two fires.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 25 people were killed, including at least five civilians, in what it called "one of the most violent Israeli attacks" on Syria in years. The group said Israeli air strikes targeted the scientific research area of Masyaf in Hama province and other sites.

Reuters also quoted two intelligence sources as saying that a major military research center near Mesyaf that produces chemical weapons was hit several times and that a group of Iranian military experts were involved in weapons production there. However, a military source in the Middle East with close ties to Damascus and Tehran denied the claim, saying the center was a prominent Syrian research facility and not a chemical weapons production facility.

"We strongly condemn the criminal attack by the Zionist (Israeli) regime on Syrian territory," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Qani told a news conference Monday. The Syrian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of trying to further escalate the situation in the region.

After the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, pro-Iranian organizations including Lebanon's Hezbollah were involved, and the Israeli army repeatedly attacked Syria on the grounds of attacking Iran. After Hamas attacked Israel in October last year, the Israeli army intensified its air strikes on pro-Iranian militia targets in Syria, and has repeatedly stated that it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in Syria.

Israel did not comment on the attack in Syria. The IDF said Monday that Israeli warplanes struck several Hezbollah sites and a rocket launcher in southern Lebanon in the early hours of the day. On the same day, 15 rockets were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon, but caused no casualties.

Visiting the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Sunday, Israel's defense minister said the military was "ready for anything that could happen in the north" along the border with Lebanon.

Israeli opposition leader calls attention to Lebanese border and Hezbollah

Israeli opposition leader Yossi Gantz called on Israel to shift its focus from Gaza and Hamas to the Lebanese border and Hezbollah, warning that "we are already late in this regard."

"Hamas is old news," Gantz said Sunday at a Middle East forum in Washington. Iran and its proxies across the Middle East and what they are trying to do is the real problem."

"In Gaza, we have passed a decisive moment in the war. We can do whatever we want in Gaza. We should seek a deal to get the hostages out, but if we can't do that in the coming days and weeks, we should head north. We have the power to Strike Lebanon if necessary."

Gantz was previously a minister in Israel's war cabinet, but quit the cabinet in frustration with Netanyahu's failure to develop a post-war plan for Gaza.

According to sources quoted by Israel's Channel 12, Israeli negotiators generally believe that the possibility of a cease-fire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Kazakhstan in accordance with Israel's May proposal is "close to zero."

At the Geneva conference Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Turk stressed that ending the nearly year-long war in Gaza is a top priority. He also accused Israel of flagrant disregard for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories and called on all countries to take action against the problem.