Israeli warplanes hit Syria target reportedly tied to chemical weapons, 2 killed

The Syrian army said Israel targeted a military site in Hama province early on Thursday which a war monitor said could be linked to chemical weapons production. Two soldiers were killed in the air raid which also caused heavy material damage. The army said in a statement that the attack hit a facility near the western town of Masyaf, close to the Mediterranean coast.

They further said that the Israeli warplanes fired several missiles while in Lebanese air space.It warned of the "dangerous repercussion of such hostile acts on the security and stability of the region.

"While largely staying out of the Syrian civil war, Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be headed to Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces. 

Israel has always warned it would not allow the transfer of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah and has accused the group’s sponsor Iran of building sites to produce “precision-guided missiles” in both Syria and Lebanon.

Syria`s government claims it no longer possesses chemical weapons after a 2013 agreement under which it pledged to surrender its chemical arsenal.

However, in 2016, a UN-led investigative body said the Syrian government was behind at leat three chemical attacks in northern Syria in the previous two years.