Israel targets Lebanon-Syria route in latest attack

An Israeli attack targeted the area of Qusayr in the southern countryside of Homs province in central Syria, Syria's state media said on Wednesday.

Later on Wednesday, the Israeli military said it attacked routes between Syria and Lebanon used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah from Syria.

Israel said it has been carrying out such strikes to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.

Syrian media said that air defences intercepted "hostile" targets over the Homs countryside.

The Israeli air attack targeted bridges on the Syrian-Lebanese border in the Qusayr area, causing significant damage and putting them out of service, Syrian state media said, citing a military source.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the October 7 2023.

On October 25, Israel struck the Jusiyeh border crossing between Lebanon and Syria in Quseir, leaving it inoperable. More than 50,000 Lebanese people have fled the violence for Syria since Israel intensified attacks in the country in late September. 

The attack comes after the US conducted strikes against an Iranian-backed militia group's weapons storage facility in Syria on Monday and Tuesday.

"These strikes were in response to a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi. There was no damage to US facilities and no injuries to U.S. or partner forces during the attack," the US military said in a statement.