At least 14 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes in northwestern Syria late Sunday, according to Syrian state media.

The SANA news agency has reported that Israel had targeted several military sites around Masyaf in the Hama countryside.

According to Reuters, which cited two regional intelligence sources, among the sites hit was the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, a major military research center for chemical weapons. The centre is believed to have housed a team of Iranian military experts.

Thursday's reports claimed that Israeli forces had boots on the ground during the large-scale operation.

The troops reportedly entered an unspecified arms depot, removed equipment and documents and then set off explosives to destroy the facility.

Israel rarely admits to attacks on Syrian territory, although in February it revealed that it had attacked more than 50 targets belonging to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed terrorist groups in Syria since October 7.