DAMASCUS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles fired on the eastern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria after midnight Friday, state TV reported.

Israel fired several missiles on areas in the vicinity of Aleppo at 1:30 a.m. Friday (2230 GMT Thursday), but most missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets, according to a terse military statement aired by the state TV.

The statement said that the attack targeted the Al-Safira area in the countryside of Aleppo, specifically the military defense factories and the scientific research center.

The attack is the latest one in a series of Israeli strikes targeting Syrian military sites.

A total of 79 Israeli strikes have targeted Syria over the past 32 months, resulting in 250 targets destroyed, including weapon depots, buildings, and military headquarters, the UK-based human rights organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a report on Wednesday.

The Observatory said it had documented the strikes from the beginning of 2018 until the beginning of September of 2020.

The Israeli strikes have killed 509 people, including 12 civilians while the rest are Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters, it added.

Throughout the Syrian crisis, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, as well as convoys transporting weapons to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia allegedly backed by Iran.