Israeli special forces killed at least 16 people and struck a blow against a suspected Iranian missile factory, U.S. officials said.

The decision to involve troops on the ground who were armed with demolition charges was made to ensure that the facility was destroyed entirely, the officials said. Israel had struck the facility repeatedly in the past, and in 2018 it assassinated a Syrian rocket scientist who worked at the center developing precision-guided munitions.

An independent U.N. commission says Israel has intensified airstrikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria, inflicting civilian casualties on at least three occasions.

The two main Tehran-backed militias used to attack Israel are Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah, based in southern Lebanon, who have been attacking Israel’s northern regions. The Houthis in Yemen, also backed by Iran, have been attacking ships heading towards Israel’s south.

The missile production facility was destroyed in the attack, according to Western officials. Syrian state media reported that 18 people were killed in the strike.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) - a UK-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground - Israeli air and artillery strikes have targeted Syrian territory on more than 60 occasions since the start of the year.

Israel conducted a high-risk commando raid on a Hezbollah missile production facility in Syria, located near the Lebanese border.

Israel and Hezbollah have increasingly exchanged fire with volleys of missiles and strikes, with Israel escalating after the attack on the Golan Heights that killed a dozen children.