Israeli air strikes on Aleppo have killed at least 42 people, most of them soldiers, according to reports. The fatalities included six members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The attacks at about 1:45am on Friday targeted several areas in Aleppo’s countryside, Syria’s Ministry of Defence said. It did not provide casualty figures, only saying that a number of civilians and military personnel were killed and property was damaged after Israel and unnamed armed groups carried out the strikes, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.

The SOHR said in posts on social media that Israeli strikes hit a weapons depot near Aleppo International Airport, resulting in a series of large explosions.

Israel has not released any statement.

Israel has for years carried out strikes in Syria, where Iranian-aligned groups, including Hezbollah, hold sway in eastern, southern and northwestern areas of the country, as well as the suburbs around the capital, Damascus.

Its attacks have escalated since the start of the current war in Gaza in October and it has also struck Syrian army air defences and some Syrian forces.