Masyaf (Agencies): An elite Israel Defense Forces unit conducted a highly unusual raid in Syria earlier this week, targeting and destroying an underground precision missile factory reportedly built by Iran. This operation marks the first ground raid by the IDF against Iranian targets in Syria in recent years.
The raid, carried out by the IDF’s top elite unit Sayeret Matkal, was aimed at a facility near Masyaf, close to the Lebanese border. The factory’s destruction is seen as a significant setback for Iran and Hezbollah’s efforts to produce precision medium-range missiles on Syrian soil.
The Israeli government has remained silent about the operation to avoid provoking retaliation from Syria, Iran, or Hezbollah. The raid was reportedly coordinated with the U.S., which was briefed in advance.
Syrian state media and opposition organizations reported heavy airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force on Sunday night in several areas of western Syria, including near Masyaf. State media claimed at least 16 people were killed and 40 others injured, condemning the airstrikes as “blatant aggression.” The Iranian foreign ministry also condemned the attack, calling it “criminal”.
On Wednesday, a Syrian opposition television channel and Greek Middle East expert Eva J. Koulouriotis reported that the airstrikes were a cover for an Israeli ground operation in Masyaf. Three sources with knowledge of the operation confirmed that Sayeret Matkal conducted the raid and destroyed the facility.
The Israeli special unit surprised the Syrian guards at the facility, killing several of them during the raid, but no Iranians or Hezbollah militants were hurt. The special forces used explosives they brought with them to blow up the underground facility, including sophisticated machinery. The airstrikes were intended to prevent the Syrian military from sending reinforcements to the area.
Behind the scenes, sources revealed that the Iranians began building the underground facility in coordination with Hezbollah and Syria in 2018 after a series of Israeli airstrikes destroyed most of the Iranian missile production infrastructure in Syria. The facility, built deep inside a mountain in Masyaf, was intended to be impenetrable to Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli intelligence services discovered the building process and monitored it for more than five years under the code name “Deep Layer.” Realizing they could not destroy the facility with an airstrike, the Israeli military decided a ground operation was necessary.