The Israeli air force carried out over 100 airstrikes on military sites in four Syrian cities, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Associated Press reporters.

The strikes killed two people and caused significant damage to key military facilities.

The attacks targeted a range of locations, including research centres, weapons depots, airports, and aircraft squadrons, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. They also disabled air defence systems and rendered several sites inoperable.

Among the sites hit were research facilities in Hama and Damascus, including the Barzeh Scientific Research Centre, which has been previously targeted. The facility gained attention in 2018 when it was struck by a US-led coalition in response to Syria’s alleged chemical weapons programme.

In Damascus, an Associated Press reporter saw plumes of smoke rising from the Barzeh facility, with explosions also hitting weapon storage sites. Heavy blasts were heard across the capital.

In the coastal city of Latakia, airstrikes damaged a Syrian air defence site, naval ships, and warehouses near the port, according to the Syrian Observatory.

In Daraa, in southwestern Syria, strikes hit military positions and storage sites in rural western and northern areas, resulting in two fatalities, the Observatory added.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes. However, earlier on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, said the operations targeted suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rocket facilities to prevent their use by hostile groups.