SYRIA “strongly condemned” the latest Israeli strikes on the western city of Homs and around the coastal city of Latakia today after warplanes attacked in the early hours.

The Israeli actions represent “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

It also described the Israeli attacks as “a direct threat” to Syrian security and regional stability, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana).

No details were provided on the size of the attacks on Homs and Latakia or on any possible casualties.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Israeli warplanes had attacked a Syrian air force base in Homs, where locals heard huge explosions.

In Latakia, the Israel jets hit a military barracks. Locals reported that ambulances had been heard rushing to the scene of the strikes.

There were no immediate reports of casualties following the two attacks.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israel’s unprovoked attacks on Syria were “part of a series of aggressive escalations pursued by Israel against Syrian territory” adding that the government rejected “any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or harm its national security.”

Damascus also called on the international community to take a “clear and firm stand to put an end” to the Israeli attacks, which the Foreign Ministry branded a “flagrant violation” of international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites and assets across Syria since the fall of veteran president Bashar al-Assad last December.

Israeli forces have also expanded their occupation of Syria's Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, an action that violated a 1974 disengagement agreement with the Syrian government.

According to the SOHR, Israel has carried out around 100 attacks so far this year, killing at least 61 people.

In the period between December 8 2024, when Mr Assad was ousted, and December 31, there were more than 500 Israeli air attacks on targets across the country.

In Israel, leading Israeli politicians are increasingly calling for the creation of a “greater Israel,” which would include not only the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza but also parts of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Influential far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was filmed last year saying: “It is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus.”