Damascus/Beirut, 29 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - At least 36 members of the Syrian government forces were killed and dozens were injured in Israeli airstrikes on the northern Syrian Aleppo province on Friday, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said the Israeli airstrikes, which took place at dawn on Friday, targeted a weapons depot belonging to the Lebanese Shiite pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah in the Jibreen area near Aleppo International Airport. SOHR has been documenting violence in Syria since 2011.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of SOHR, said the Israeli bombing also targeted some factories in al-Safira, and explosions sounded in Kafr Joum, west of Aleppo.

Explosions were still being heard two hours after the strikes, he said, and the death toll is expected to rise, as many of the wounded suffered serious injuries. 

"The death toll among Syria government troops is the highest from previous Israeli strikes that targeted Syrian areas," SOHR said.

Israel has carried some 26 strikes in Syrian since the beginning of 2024, the group said.

Syria's state-controlled news agency, SANA, said, citing a military source, that the dawn attack has killed and wounded civilians as well as military personnel.

“At approximately 1:45 am (2245 Thursday GMT) the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of Athriya, south-east of Aleppo,” the military source said, according to SANA.

It added that the attack coincided with a drone attack on the city of Aleppo and its surroundings carried out by Syrian rebels based in Idlib. The rebel strongholds are in north-west Syria and the western countryside of Aleppo.

SANA and Syrian television so far did not give an exact number of casualties

Residents in  Aleppo city told dpa that plumes of smoke covered the targeted areas, especially in al-Safira. Dozens of ambulances were seen heading to the area.

They added that Syrian government forces have cordoned off the targeted areas.

The Israeli army has not commented so far on the attack.

Late Thursday, Israel hit pro-Iranian militias near the capital Damascus killing one person and wounding five others, the monitoring group said. That strike hit a Hezbollah headquarters in the al-Bahdalia area near Sayyida Zeinab.

SANA, citing a military source, said "the Israeli enemy launched an aerial aggression from the direction of occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a residential building in Damascus countryside." The Israeli army did not comment on the strike.

Israel has been bombing targets in Syria with the goal of hitting Iranian forces based there. Israel aims to prevent Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in the country.

Israeli attacks have increased on Syria since the Gaza war began on October 7.

MIA file photo