Israel strikes ‘unofficial’ crossings on Syria-Lebanon border: Monitor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least two “unofficial” border crossings on the Syrian-Lebanese border were targeted by Israeli airstrikes, a war monitor reported on Friday, with regional tensions high over a year after the Israel-Gaza war. 

“Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike targeting an unofficial crossing in the Qabash area near the Lebanese town of Qasr. Another Israeli airstrike targeted another crossing,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor. 

No information on casualties was readily available, the Observatory added. 

Israel has recently intensified its strikes in Syria, targeting warehouses of the Syrian army and Iran-backed militia positions.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its over a decade-long civil war, often claiming to target pro-Iran militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah group which supports the Syrian army. 

The strikes have increased since October 7 of last year, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched an unprecedented, large-scale attack on Israeli territory that has prompted significant retaliation. 

Israel rarely confirms strikes attributed to it in Syria but has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate its arch-rival Iran gaining a foothold there.

Israel has carried out 115 strikes on Syrian territory since the beginning of the year, killing 257 combatants and injuring 181 more, according to data from the Observatory.