Israeli airstrikes hit the Syrian port of Latakia early Tuesday, according to Syrian state media.

Latakia is the main port through which food and other crucial supplies enter Syria. It is close to Russia's main airbase in the country, Hmeimim.

The attack targeted the port's goods yard, setting light to a number of containers but without causing casualties.

According to the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the fires were later extinguished.

"Our air defenses repelled the Israeli aggression in Latakia," a Syrian military source told SANA.

What is the Israeli position on the airstrikes?

An Israeli Defense Forces spokesman declined to discuss the attack, saying that Israel's military does not comment on foreign reports.

Israel rarely acknowledges or discusses its attacks on Syrian territory.

Israel has however acknowledged that it targets the bases of Iran-allied militias in the country. Israel has said that the Iranian presence on its northern border with Syria is a "red line," justifying its attacks on facilities within Syria.

Some of the strikes in the past had targeted the main airport in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

What has been Israel's role in the Syrian Civil War?

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory. It has targeted Syrian government positions, as well as Iran-backed forces allied to the Syrian government, including the Shiite militia Hezbollah.

On November 24, Israeli strikes killed five people in the west of Syria's Homs province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based organization also reported two additional Israeli attacks in October, one of which killed five pro-Iranian fighters near Damascus and one that killed nine government soldiers near the T4 airbase east of Palmyra.

Syria and Israel have had a territorial dispute over the Golan Heights since 1967. Israel and Iran have also been involved in a proxy conflict lasting decades, with Israel a major opponent of Tehran's nuclear program.

sdi/rc (Reuters, AP, AFP)