Photo: Screenshot from the video

On the night of 16 December, Israeli aircraft carried out powerful strikes on military targets near the city of Tartus, located on the Syrian coast, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing Arab media reports. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, these were the most intense attacks on the region since 2012.

Ammunition depots, air defence facilities, radars, military communication stations, and surface-to-surface missile depots were hit. The explosions caused large-scale damage to the facilities. Videos of the explosions are already being shared on Telegram channels.

Interestingly, Tartus is a strategic city for Russia, with the 720th logistics centre of the Russian Navy located there. However, there is currently no information on whether Russian infrastructure was damaged during the Israeli strikes.

Officially, Israel has not commented on the operation, adhering to its traditional policy of non-recognition of attacks on Syrian territory. However, it is known that Israel is actively acting against Iranian forces in the region, which use Syrian bases to transport weapons to their allies, in particular the Hezbollah group.

The attack on Tartus highlights the growing tension in the region, where the interests of many players, including Russia, Israel, Iran and the United States, intersect. At the same time, the attack demonstrates Israel’s ability to operate even in areas where Russian army facilities are located.