On the morning of September 9th the BBC News website published a report based on claims appearing in Syrian regime media under the headline “Suspected Israeli strikes hit Syria targets, say reports”.
As the day went on that report was amended and the version currently appearing on the website – credited to David Gritten – carries a headline from which the qualification “suspected” has been removed: “Israeli strikes on Syrian military sites kill 18, health minister says”.
As is overwhelmingly the case in BBC reports about alleged Israeli strikes in Syria, Gritten’s report relies heavily on statements made by government officials quoted by state-run media outlets, which inevitably include unverified claims about the supposed interception of missiles. [emphasis added]
“At least 18 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on a number of military sites in central Syria, the Syrian health minister says.
State news agency Sana cited Hassan al-Ghabbash as saying another 37 people were injured in the attacks in the vicinity of Masyaf, in Hama province, on Sunday night. […]
Sana’s report cited a Syrian military source as saying that Israeli aircraft flying over north-western Lebanon launched missiles at “a number of military sites in the central region” at around 23:20 (20:20 GMT) on Sunday.
“Our air defence shot down some missiles,” the military source added. […]
Later, the Syrian foreign ministry said the attack had targeted “several residential areas”, while local authorities reported that key infrastructure had been damaged, including a fibre optic cable running underneath the highway and a high-voltage power line, according to Sana.”
Citing another Syrian regime media source, Gritten tells readers that:
“State-run Al-Ikhbariya al-Suriyah TV also broadcast footage purportedly showing a damaged building in the port city of Tartous, west of Masyaf.”
Gritten does not mention reports claiming that the strike in Tartous targeted shipments of weapons and UAVs and he refrains from telling BBC audiences that reports concerning the casualties indicate that the majority of those identified as killed were male.
On the topic of the target of some of the strikes, Gritten quotes the UK based SOHR:
“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) – a UK-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground – reported that Israeli strikes destroyed buildings and military facilities in “the scientific research area in Masyaf”, on the Masyaf-Wadi al-Oyoun highway and in Hair Abbas.
It said at least 26 people were killed, including five civilians, four members of Syrian government forces and 14 Syrians working with pro-Iran groups. Another three bodies were unidentified, it added.
The SOHR said Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers had been stationed in the scientific research area for six years as part of a programme to develop short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.”
He then goes on to uncritically promote Iranian denials and a second hand quote from an unidentified “source”:
“However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters in Tehran: “We do not confirm what was reported by media outlets linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] about an attack on an Iranian centre or a centre under Iran’s protection.”
A senior regional military source close to Damascus and Tehran also denied a Reuters news agency report which cited two intelligence sources as saying that a major military research centre for chemical arms production was hit several times.”
As noted by the Alma Center:
“According to local reports, an airstrike was carried out between Sunday night and Monday (8-9.9.24) targeting sites near the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria. The strike was directed at several locations belonging to Institute 4000 (‘Sector 4’) of the SSRC (Scientific Studies and Research Center) near Masyaf.
As we have previously reported, the SSRC is officially defined as a research and scientific studies center operating under the auspices of the Syrian government. The institute includes at least 18 facilities scattered across Syria and, until a few years ago, served as the core of Syria’s military industry. SSRC is responsible for the research, development, and production of various weaponry, ranging from vests and helmets to barrel bombs, Burkan rockets, UAVs, and Fateh 110 missiles (known in Syria as M-600). […]
The primary focus of Institute 4000 is the development and production of rockets and missiles, with a particular emphasis on the precision project for Hezbollah. Other activities include the production of UAVs, bombs, as well as propellants fuels for missiles and rockets. Engineers and researchers operating at SSRC facilities are involved in various military projects aimed at upgrading the capabilities of Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Lebanon. The institute houses experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, Syria, Hezbollah, and North Korea.
In recent years, as Iran deepened its involvement in Syria, it increased its control over the SSRC in general and Institute 4000 in particular. It is estimated that Iran now controls most of the center’s operations.
The Iranian takeover of SSRC, a significant platform for knowledge and production, is intended to assist Iran in the research, development, and production of various weaponry, as well as shortening the length of the land corridor. Weapon production on Syrian soil saves logistical efforts and reduces the risk of shipment interception.” [emphasis added]
Had Gritten informed his readers about the significance of the SSRC with regard to the development and production of precision missiles and the shortening of supply routes to Hizballah, he may have been less likely to mislead his audiences by describing strikes on weapons shipments and weapons production plants as a “response to cross-border attacks”:
“Israel has previously acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran – Israel’s main foe – and allied armed groups.
The Israeli strikes have reportedly been stepped up since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, in response to cross-border attacks on northern Israel by Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon and Syria.”
BBC audiences cannot hope to fully understand this story and similar ones if they are not informed that Israeli strikes against targets in Syria are not a “response” to Hizballah’s almost daily attacks on northern Israel throughout the past eleven months but rather an attempt to prevent those attacks from extending in range and becoming more deadly.
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