Syria Says Israeli Strikes Wound 2 Soldiers, Cause Damage

DAMSCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s military said Israel carried out airstrikes Monday night on central and western provinces, wounding two soldiers and causing material damage.

The military said Israeli warplanes fired missiles while flying over neighboring Lebanon. It added that Syrian air defenses shot down most of the Israeli missiles without elaborating.

In neighboring Lebanon, a woman was lightly wounded and several homes were damaged when parts from Syrian anti-aircraft missiles fell in the northeastern Lebanese village of Sahlat al-Maa near the Syrian border, state-run National News Agency said.

The strikes came amid an increase in reported attacks by Israel on Syria in recent weeks.

Israel has staged hundreds of strikes on Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel has acknowledged, however, that it is targeting bases of Iran-allied groups, such as the powerful Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

Israel says an Iranian presence on its northern frontier is a red line, and it has repeatedly struck what it has described as Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.