Adedokun Waliyu 
The coastal Syrian city of Jableh was hit by an Israeli drone attack early Thursday, destroying a weapons depot.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, massive explosions were heard from a distance as the depot was leveled by drone and missile strikes.
The UK-based group reported that “the Syrian air defenses and Russian forces responded to the attack within 40 to 50 minutes.”
The depot was located near the Hmeimim Air Base, the largest Russian air base in Syria, in the northwestern province of Latakia.
“No immediate reports of casualties have been reported,” the observatory stated. The pro-government Sham FM radio said, “the sounds heard in the skies over Jableh were the air defenses intercepting targets off the coast.”
Firefighting teams responded to the scene after columns of fire were seen rising, although no details about the nature of the fire were provided. This attack comes amid a series of Israeli airstrikes on Syria this week, the International Centre for Strategic Security and Military Studies, reports.
On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed two Lebanese nationals, including Hassan Jafar Qasir, the son-in-law of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in Damascus.
A day earlier, an Israeli missile strike hit a site in Damascus, killing three people and injuring nine others. Israel has frequently targeted positions in Syria linked to Iran and Hezbollah.
