The BBC reported that the port city of Latakia, which faces the Mediterranean Sea, came under heavy attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli warplanes damaged or sunk about 10 Syrian naval vessels and destroyed the Barzeh scientific research center in the town.
The same facility was attacked by Western powers in 2018, with then-US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis describing it as part of Syria’s “chemical weapons infrastructure.”
The wider Latakia region is also home to the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs.
“I hereby warn the Syrian opposition leaders: Anyone who follows Assad’s path will end up just like Assad,” Katz said in Haifa. “We will not allow radical Islamic terrorist organizations to cross our borders and act against Israel, putting our people at risk.”
However, there were no reports of an attack on the port city of Tartus, about 100 kilometers to the south. Russia has had a naval presence there for 50 years (recently hosting three frigates, two auxiliary boats, and a Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarine). Satellite images taken on Monday appeared to suggest the ships had set sail, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the ships were simply conducting maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the Russian government is “taking all necessary measures to establish contacts with those who can ensure the security of military bases in Syria.”
