People attend a funeral for victims killed in Israeli airstrikes in Masyaf, central province of Hama, Syria, on Sept. 9, 2024. The death toll from the Israeli airstrikes on military sites in the city of Masyaf in Syria's central province of Hama has risen to 18, including four civilians, according to updated reports. (Str/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes killed 18 people in central Syria overnight, Syria's health minister said on Monday. This is the deadliest attack of its kind since the Gaza conflict began last October and has drawn criticism of Israel from regional countries.

The strikes hit military sites in Hama province, including a scientific research center in Masyaf city, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. The group reported that both civilians and military personnel were among the casualties.

Syria's foreign ministry strongly condemned the strikes, calling them Israeli "aggression" that risked destabilizing the region. In a statement, the ministry accused Israel of seeking to escalate tensions through repeated violations of Syrian airspace.

"These actions are pushing the region towards dangerous instability with unforeseeable consequences," the statement said, attributing Israel's actions to "unlimited support" from the United States and other Western nations.

Iran and Oman also denounced the attacks. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani called them a "brutal and flagrant crime", while Oman urged international action against what it termed Israeli "war crimes".

"The international community must put a definitive end to these aggressive Israeli practices," Oman's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Local officials reported significant damage to infrastructure, disrupting telecommunications, electricity, and water systems. Syria's transport ministry said a key road connecting Hama and Tartous provinces was damaged.

The strikes also sparked fires in forested areas along the Masyaf-Wadi al-Oyoun road, with explosions heard across the region, local sources said.

The United Nations said on Monday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was worried about further escalation in the "volatile" region.

"The Secretary-General continues to be worried and even more worried about the prospect of further escalation of violence in what is already a very volatile region," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in Syria in recent years but rarely acknowledges them. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the reports.

Syrian state media said air defenses had responded to "Israeli aggression" in the Masyaf area.

The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with Israel engaged in a war against Hamas in Gaza since October 7. That conflict began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has intensified its strikes in Syria since the Gaza war began, targeting sites it says are linked to Iran and its allied militias, which support the Syrian government.