(MENAFN) Syrian activists in Tartus reported violent explosions caused by Israeli air raids on the city, which seismometers recorded as tremors with a magnitude of 3 on the Richter scale. The explosions were so intense that seismic monitoring equipment in the village of Al-Fatasiya, in the countryside of Tartus, detected the shockwaves as if they were an earthquake. However, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismology Center confirmed that no actual earthquake occurred on the Syrian coast during the Israeli strikes. The explosions were attributed to Israeli missile attacks that triggered the detonation of strategic ballistic missiles, generating seismic-like waves.

At dawn on Monday, Israeli airstrikes hit several military sites in the provinces of Hama, Homs, and Tartus, causing large fires. Sources reported that Israeli warships launched missiles off the Syrian coast, marking the first time such tactics were used against Syrian military targets. The raids targeted the countryside of Tartus, causing extensive damage to the region. Emergency services, including fire brigades, civil defense, and ambulances, were deployed to the affected villages and towns. Syrian activists documented the explosions, sharing videos showing the severity of the attacks.

In recent days, Israeli airstrikes have heavily targeted strategic weapons and Syrian military assets, including the destruction of over 90% of Syria's surface-to-air missile defense systems. Additionally, Israeli forces reportedly advanced several kilometers into the Syrian Golan Heights, taking control of the Mount Hermon military position after Syrian troops vacated it. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's advisor, Dmitry Gendelman, revealed that Israeli forces are establishing an "isolation" zone outside the demilitarized area on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's government approved plans to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights.

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