TEL AVIV, November 4. /TASS/. Israel has attacked Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters near Damascus, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"A short while ago, the IAF (Israeli Air Force - TASS) conducted an aerial operation and struck Hezbollah terror targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Syria," it said. "This is Hezbollah’s central intelligence body, responsible for intelligence assessments, the direction of intelligence activities, and the intelligence gathering and detection capabilities."

According to the IDF, Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters has a branch in Syria, "which includes an independent intelligence gathering, coordination, and assessment network."

"In recent weeks, the IDF has significantly degraded Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, destroying military intelligence assets in Lebanon and damaging the organization’s intelligence-gathering capabilities. The targeting of Hezbollah’s military intelligence assets in Syria further contributes to the operations in Lebanon, undermining the intelligence abilities of the Hezbollah terrorist organization," the IDF said. "With the support of the Syrian regime, Hezbollah endangers the safety of Syrian civilians by establishing headquarters and deploying forces in civilian areas throughout the country."

Israel has been delivering massive airstrikes on Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon since September 23, when it launched Operation Northern Arrows. Israel’s declared goal is to create safe conditions in the country’s northern areas so that tens of thousands of local residents could return to their homes. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was reportedly killed in Israel’s strike on Beirut on September 27. In the early hours of October 1, Israel announced the launch of a ground operation in Lebanon’s border areas.