Beirut: A war monitor said Israeli air strikes Friday on Syria's north killed 36 soldiers and six Hezbollah fighters, the latest deadly raid on Iran-backed forces in the country since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war there broke out in 2011, targeting army positions as well as Iran-backed fighters including Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The strikes have increased since Israel's war with Hamas began on October 7, and Friday's was the second such attack in 24 hours.
"Israeli strikes" targeted "a rockets depot belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah" close to Aleppo airport, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
It reported "42 killed, including six from Lebanon's Hezbollah group" and "36 soldiers", the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began.
State news agency SANA, quoting a military source, reported that "at approximately 1:45am, the Israel launched an air attack from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo", adding that "civilians and military personnel" were killed and wounded.
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