An Israeli airstrike struck a Syrian army position near the town of Masyaf in Hama province early today, killing two people, according to the Syrian military. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog group monitoring the war, reported that the strike targeted a government facility that could be used to produce chemical weapons. The Syrian army warned against the “dangerous repercussions” that such action could have on the region. Meanwhile, Israel also reportedly struck a Hezbollah weapons convoy obtained from the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which contained chemical weapons tipped missiles, according to Syrian opposition sources. Israeli authorities have not confirmed or denied either incident.
Russia has unilaterally established a de-confliction zone north of the Syrian city of Aleppo “to prevent provocations and possible clashes between the Free Syrian Army in northern Syria and Kurdish militia,” senior Russian military officer Sergei Rudskoi said Wednesday. Forces loyal to Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime and Russian military police replaced Kurdish fighters in the area and erected checkpoints. According to Rudskoi, the zone set up in the Tal Rifaat district allowed about 400 Syrians to return to their homes.
Separately, United Nations envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Wednesday called for a national cease-fire, saying that the Syrian opposition must accept that it did not win the years-long conflict. De Mistura noted that most countries have entered the conflict mainly to fight the Islamic State and that Syrian regime forces have nearly finished liberating Deir ez-Zor while the fall of Raqqa to the US-led coalition and Kurdish forces is imminent.