Report: Israeli Airstrikes Kill 13 Along Syria-Lebanon Border

Eight Hezbollah Fighters, Five Troops Slain in Attack

According to reports out of the Syrian media, Israeli warplanes launched four airstrikes against a Hezbollah base in western Syria, along the Lebanon border, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens of others.

The report identified the slain as eight Hezbollah fighters and five Syrian soldiers. No reason was given for the attack and, as with several previous Israeli attacks on Syria, there has been no formal statement from the Israeli military confirming the incident, let alone explaining it.

The previous attacks didn’t target stationary bases, however, and were explained away as targeting convoys Israel believed to be smuggling weapons to Hezbollah. Israeli officials have repeatedly said they will never allow Hezbollah to obtain certain advanced weapons.

If confirmed, these Monday evening attacks could raise tensions between Russia and Israel, as Russia has previously warned Israeli warplanes away from the Lebanese border for being too close to their own military operations inside Syria.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.