Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes late Sunday on military sites in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces, targeting key infrastructure, including military bases and ammunition depots. The airstrikes also reportedly triggered a violent explosion in the village of Hiresun in Tartus.

A Massive Explosion seen in Northwestern Syria near the City of Tartus, following an Israeli Strike against a Munitions Depot; with the Explosion reported to have been so large, that it measured as a 3.0 Magnitude Earthquake on nearby Seismic Sensors. pic.twitter.com/i1jC1vNjVJ

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 15, 2024

The attacks, which were confirmed by an aircraft observation post, form part of a series of Israeli strikes on military assets in Syria, a tactic Israel has employed frequently since the fall of the Baath regime. Israel’s airstrikes aim to target military infrastructure and disrupt the capabilities of groups operating within the region.

In the aftermath of the airstrikes, a tremor was recorded by the Geographic Survey of Israel’s seismology department. A 3.1 magnitude earthquake was detected at 11:49 p.m. near the coast of Syria, around 28 kilometers off the city of Banias. The earthquake, at a depth of 32 kilometers, has been linked by Hebrew language media to the heavy Israeli airstrikes in the Tartus area, though there has been no official confirmation of the connection between the tremor and the explosions.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes targeted several locations in Syria’s coastal region, including air defense systems and surface-to-surface missile depots.

Sources:

• Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
• Times of Israel
• Anadolu Agency