The Syrian Army has told Reuters that Israeli missiles have targeted the Syrian port city of Tartous shortly before midnight Tuesday evening (local time).

Syria’s air defenses reportedly intercepted the inbound missiles, with Al Mayadeen saying that at least two Israeli missiles were observed inbound. There are currently widespread reports of multiple explosions.

Illustrative: missile intercept over Syria

Tartous is Syria’s second largest coastal city. It lies just to the north of Lebanon, and Israeli attacks on it are very rare. Instead, most assaults have focused on Damascus and its environs over the past several years.

The staunchly pro-government stronghold didn’t even come under much Israeli fire throughout the totality of the Syrian proxy war.

Russian bases and assets are positioned in Tartous and nearby along the coast, a reality which has also ensured that Israeli strikes there remain relatively rare. The Russian Navy’s only deep water Mediterranean port is located in Tartous.

Israeli media has also picked up on the nighttime attack, and is writing that the Israeli Air Force was likely behind it.

Currently Israel is engaged in a new expanded anti-Hezbollah offensive in south Lebanon, which has resulted in over 550 Lebanese deaths and thousands of injuries.

There are fears that the fighting could spread through the region, if Shia paramilitary groups in Iraq and Syria get involved, and if Tehran directly enters the fighting in Lebanon. Damascus has always been a powerful state ally of Hezbollah.

Syrian air defenses confronting Israeli missiles off the coast of Tartous. pic.twitter.com/iG8V6TuoCl

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) September 24, 2024

So far, the Assad government has remained uncharacteristically quiet regarding what’s happening in Lebanon, even as some pro-Hezbollah Lebanese have questioned why Damascus hasn’t come to Hezbollah’s direct aid.