Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026

War Monitor: Israeli Strike Targeted Missile Depot in Syria

War Monitor: Israeli Strike Targeted Missile Depot in Syria

Satellite imagery showed widespread destruction at a giant military facility in western Syria targeted in a recent Israeli airstrike, and the head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said Sunday the strike targeted a depot housing hundreds of middle-range missiles for Iran-backed fighters.
Syrian state media reported after the Thursday night attack near the cities of Tartus and Hama that two people were wounded and fires were sparked in nearby forests. It added that the missiles were fired from over the Mediterranean and most of them were shot down.

Syrian opposition activists at the time said the strike targeted an arms depot and a scientific research center near the central town of Masyaf, a government stronghold. Masyaf is almost half way between the coastal city of Tartus and the central city of Hama.

The Times of Israel on Sunday published images taken by Planet Labs PBC and provided by Aurora Intel, a network that provides news and updates based on open-source intelligence.

Aurora Intel tweeted that initial analysis of satellite imagery showed that some buildings and areas sustained heavy damage from the reported airstrikes. It added that areas around the Scientific Studies and Research Center sustained “heavy fire damage due to the secondary explosions.”

The imagery showed that part of the green areas surrounding the facility had been burned.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based opposition war monitor known as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Israelis struck several positions but the main target hit was a giant arms depot housing about 1,000 precision-guided middle-range missiles. He said the explosions at the facility lasted for more than five hours after the strike.

Abdurrahman added that an underground facility to develop missiles in the area under the supervision of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was not affected by the strikes, probably because it was dug deep in the mountains. He said the strike left one Syrian army captain dead and 14 other Syrians wounded.

“The explosions were among the largest since Israel began carrying out airstrikes in Syria,” he said.

There was no official comment from Israel’s military.

Israel has made hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over the past decade of its civil war, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

It has, however, acknowledged that it targets bases of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s allies, including Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and other Iran-backed militias. Israeli military officials have said in the past that the strikes are against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top US Air Force officer in the Middle East, said he was “certainly aware” of reports that Israel targeted an arms depot in Syria in recent days but stressed there was “no connection” between that attack and the US airstrikes that hit Iran-linked targets in Syria last week.

He said that the recent actions that the US military took “are entirely disconnected from any other actors, whether the Israelis or anyone else.”

On the tit-for-tat attacks that raised tensions between the US and Iran-backed militias in Syria last week, Grynkewich said he hoped “things have de-escalated and now we’ve reached a point where deterrence is once again established.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia Deepen Strategic Partnership with New Investment and Energy Agreements
Saudi Crown Prince Receives Written Message from Kazakhstan’s President Amid Expanding Strategic Ties
ImmunityBio Shares Rise After Saudi Arabia BCG Manufacturing Update Spurs Investor Optimism
Global Music Star Tyla Confirmed as Headliner at 2026 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Entertainment Lineup
Somalia and Saudi Arabia Forge New Military Partnership Amid Regional Power Shifts
Saudi Arabia and Several Nations Criticize Israeli West Bank Land Measures as Diplomatic Tensions Rise
Saudi Public Investment Fund Transfers Stake in Take-Two Interactive as Portfolio Strategy Evolves
Saudi Arabia’s Flagship Defense Expo Highlights Industrial Ambitions and Expanding Arms Portfolio
Strategic Divergence Deepens as Saudi Arabia and UAE Recalibrate Gulf Partnership
Saudi Arabia Confirms Start of Ramadan as Crescent Moon Sighted, While Other Nations Begin a Day Later
Rubio Calls for Sweeping U.N. Reform, Saying It Has Failed to End Wars in Gaza and Ukraine
10,000 Condoms Distributed at Winter Olympics 2026 Athlete Village Depleted Within 72 Hours
Prince William Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Epstein-Andrew Fallout Casts Shadow
Goldman Sachs and DP World Executive Resignations: Elite-Reputation Risk and Corporate Governance Fallout From the Epstein Disclosures
OpenAI and DeepCent Superintelligence Race: Artificial General Intelligence and AI Agents as a National Security Arms Race
Prince William in Saudi Arabia on Official Three-Day Visit to Strengthen UK-Saudi Relations
Prince William Highlights Women’s Sport During High-Profile Visit to Saudi Arabia
Prince William Begins High-Profile Diplomatic Mission to Saudi Arabia
Syria and Saudi Arabia Seal Multibillion-Dollar Investment Agreements to Drive Post-War Economic Reconstruction
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode blocks FBI data access in journalist device seizure
Foreign Governments and Corporations Spend Millions with Trump-Linked Lobbying Firm in Washington
KPMG Urges Auditor to Relay AI Cost Savings
Saudi Arabia Quietly Allows Wealthy Foreign Residents to Buy Alcohol, Signalling Policy Shift
US and Iran to Begin Nuclear Talks in Oman
China unveils plans for a 'Death Star' capable of launching missile strikes from space
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
U.S. State Department Issues Urgent Travel Warning for Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Eighty-one-year-old man in the United States fatally shoots Uber driver after scam threat
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Begins Strategic Gulf Tour with Saudi Arabia Visit
Dubai Awards Tunnel Contract for Dubai Loop as Boring Company Plans Pilot Network
Five Key Takeaways From President Erdoğan’s Strategic Visit to Saudi Arabia
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
Erdoğan’s Saudi Arabia Visit Focuses on Trade, Investment and Strategic Cooperation
Germany and Saudi Arabia Move to Deepen Energy Cooperation Amid Global Transition
Saudi Aviation Records Historic Passenger Traffic in 2025 and Sets Sights on Further Growth in 2026
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Global Shifts in War, Trade, Energy and Security Mark Major International Developments
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Saudi Crown Prince Tells Iranian President: Kingdom Will Not Host Attacks Against Iran
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Trump Defends Saudi Crown Prince in Heated Exchange After Reporter Questions Khashoggi Murder and 9/11 Links
Saudi Stocks Rally as Kingdom Prepares to Fully Open Capital Market to Global Investors
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
Saudi Arabia scales back Neom as The Line is redesigned and Trojena downsized
Saudi Industrial Group Completes One Point Three Billion Dollar Acquisition of South Africa’s Barloworld
Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Confirms Return to Trump National Bedminster for 2026 Season
×