Israel military strikes hit Syria after rockets fired at Golan Heights

Artillery and drone strikes destroyed rocket launchers before air strikes hit Syrian military targets, Israeli military says

Israeli soldier is outlined by the glow from a flare fired to search for a rocket fired from Syria that landed near Kibbutz Meitsar in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on April 9. AFP

Israeli jets hit military targets in Syria on Sunday in response to rockets launched towards Israel-occupied Golan Heights overnight.

Syrian state media reported explosions near the capital Damascus as Israel's military said its forces were responding to six rockets fired overnight from Syria.

The military said artillery and drone strikes hit the rocket launchers and were followed by air strikes against a Syrian army compound, military radar systems and artillery posts.

The Israeli military “sees the State of Syria responsible for all activities occurring within its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty”, the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Syrian Defence Ministry said its air defences had responded to the Israeli attacks and intercepted some Israeli missiles. It said the strikes caused material damage but no casualties.

Sirens had sounded earlier near towns in the Golan Heights after rockets were launched from Syrian territory, but no damage or casualties were reported.

Only three of the rockets crossed into Israeli-controlled territory, with two falling on open ground and a third intercepted by air defence systems, the military said.

Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the 1,200-square-kilometre territory in 1981, a move not recognised by most of the international community.

Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV said the rocket fire was claimed by Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

On Thursday, more than 30 rockets were fired towards Israel from southern Lebanon, drawing cross-border counterstrikes from Israel on sites linked to the Islamist movement Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza.

The cross-border exchanges came amid sharply increased tensions between Israel and Palestinian groups following Israeli police raids on Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which caused outrage across the Arab world.

Israel said the operations were intended to dislodge groups of what police called extremists that had barricaded themselves into the mosque armed with firecrackers and stones.

But the raids, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, drew a furious reaction and concern even among Israel's US allies, with mobile phone footage from inside the mosque showing police beating worshippers.

The site in Jerusalem's Old City, holy to Muslims and Jews, has been a long-standing flashpoint, notably over the issue of Jewish visitors defying a ban on non-Muslim prayer in the mosque compound.

Clashes there in 2021 helped set off a 10-day war between Israel and Hamas.

Despite fears of further violence around the mosque on Saturday, there were no reports of serious disturbances overnight.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces during a confrontation in the occupied West Bank, Israel's military and the Palestinian health ministry said.