Three fighters close to Iran were killed on Friday in shelling attributed to Israel in areas of central Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced.

“Israeli strikes killed three pro-Iranian fighters and wounded ten others,” according to the NGO, which is based in Britain and has a wide network of sources in Syria.

The targets were “makeshift gas stations linked to (Lebanese) Hezbollah in Homs province, as well as weapons depots belonging to the movement and two army installations in Hama province,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Thick smoke rises from the majority of the facilities targeted,” according to the NGO, as the shelling “destroyed a weapons depot and fuel storage facilities.”

The Syrian Ministry of Defense spoke for its part about “seven civilians injured” in the Israeli bombardments, which were launched around 19:35 (local and Greek time) against “facilities” in the central part of the country. The attack also caused “material damage”, the same source added.

Since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of raids in the country, mainly targeting organizations close to Iran, especially the Lebanese Hezbollah. The US has also cracked down on Iran-linked groups, mainly in eastern Syria.

Such operations have multiplied since the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas invaded southern Israeli territory on October 7, triggering the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli authorities rarely comment on these bombings on a case-by-case basis, however, they have repeatedly declared that they will not allow Iran, the sworn enemy of the Jewish state, to expand its presence in Syrian territory.

The war in Syria, which broke out in the spring of 2011, has claimed the lives of at least half a million people, turned millions more into internally displaced persons and refugees, and caused a deep humanitarian and economic crisis in the country.