<p>Syria's air defences intercepted Israeli missiles over Homs province early Thursday, the second airstrike this week, Syrian state media reported.</p>.<p>A military source told Syrian state news agency SANA that the attack had caused no casualties, inflicting only material damage.</p>.<p>"At 01:13 am... the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack targeting several positions in the Qusayr region of Homs province," SANA reported, citing the source.</p>.<p>"Our air defences intercepted the missiles... shooting most of them down," the military source said.</p>.<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles had targeted military positions of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, destroying weapons depots.</p>.<p>The Syrian army recaptured Qusayr, a rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border, in 2013 after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters. The city was strategically vital for the regime because it links the capital Damascus to the coast.</p>.<p>Seizing the stronghold was a major victory for Hezbollah, which has fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces.</p>.<p>Thursday's airstrikes were the second this week, after an Israeli attack on Monday killed five pro-Iran fighters allied with the regime, and destroyed the group's base and a nearby weapons depot in Aleppo, according to the Britain-based war monitor.</p>.<p>Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting government positions as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces.</p>.<p>Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but the Jewish state's army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.</p>.<p>Israel has said it is trying to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep.</p>.<p>Last month, Israeli airstrikes in central Syria killed at least 11 government troops and militiamen.</p>
<p>Syria's air defences intercepted Israeli missiles over Homs province early Thursday, the second airstrike this week, Syrian state media reported.</p>.<p>A military source told Syrian state news agency SANA that the attack had caused no casualties, inflicting only material damage.</p>.<p>"At 01:13 am... the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack targeting several positions in the Qusayr region of Homs province," SANA reported, citing the source.</p>.<p>"Our air defences intercepted the missiles... shooting most of them down," the military source said.</p>.<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles had targeted military positions of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, destroying weapons depots.</p>.<p>The Syrian army recaptured Qusayr, a rebel stronghold near the Lebanese border, in 2013 after a blistering 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters. The city was strategically vital for the regime because it links the capital Damascus to the coast.</p>.<p>Seizing the stronghold was a major victory for Hezbollah, which has fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces.</p>.<p>Thursday's airstrikes were the second this week, after an Israeli attack on Monday killed five pro-Iran fighters allied with the regime, and destroyed the group's base and a nearby weapons depot in Aleppo, according to the Britain-based war monitor.</p>.<p>Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting government positions as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces.</p>.<p>Israel rarely confirms strikes in Syria, but the Jewish state's army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country last year, without providing details.</p>.<p>Israel has said it is trying to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a permanent military foothold on its doorstep.</p>.<p>Last month, Israeli airstrikes in central Syria killed at least 11 government troops and militiamen.</p>