Syria's air defenses confront an 'Israeli aggression' in Masyaf - state TV

CAIRO (Reuters) - Syrian air defenses confronted an "Israeli aggression" after midnight on Thursday in the Masyaf area in the Hama countryside, Syrian state TV said, citing a military statement.

"At 12:40 this morning, the Israeli enemy launched an aggression by directing a barrage of missiles from the north of the Lebanese city of Tripoli towards the Masyaf area in the western Hama countryside," the statement said.

"Our air defenses intercepted the missiles and downed most of them," it added.

Explosions were heard in Syria's central region, state TV reported earlier.

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)