BEIRUT, September 9. /TASS/. Israel’s actions are provoking an escalation in the Middle East, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a comment on strikes of by the Israeli Armed Forces on facilities in the Syrian province of Hama.

"The persistent attacks carried out by the Israeli authorities of occupation on Syrian territories and other countries in the region, as well as their ongoing barbaric war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, accompanied by horrendous crimes and extermination of Palestinians, indicate the wish of the Israeli side to further escalate the conflict in the region, which will entail severe and unpredictable consequences," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement quoted by the SANA news agency.

The Foreign Ministry put the blame for what has been happening on the United States and other Western countries, which continue to support Israel, thus encouraging it to continue its attacks.

The SANA news agency said that the Israeli Armed Forces carried out night-time airstrikes against ground targets in Wadi al-Uyun, Masyaf and Salamiya in Hama province on September 8-9. A source in the Syrian Defense Ministry told SANA that "Syrian air defenses repelled an aggressive attack by the Israeli enemy." Some of the missiles were shot down on the way to the targets. Sixteen people were killed in the strikes and 36 others were injured. The attacks also caused material damage.

According to The Times of Israel, the strikes may have hit pro-Iranian facilities, including a missile production base.