Israel's army said Thursday it hit dozens of Iranian military targets in Syria overnight after rocket and missile fire toward Israeli army bases it blamed on Iran, marking a sharp escalation in tensions.
"The (Israeli military) has struck dozens of Iranian military targets in Syria," Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists.
He said they targeted intelligence, logistics, storage and vehicles as well as the origin of the rockets.
It was one of the largest Israeli military operations in recent years and the biggest against Iranian targets.
Conricus however stressed Israel was not seeking an escalation.
The Iranian attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, just past midnight, marked the first time Iranian forces have hit Israel from Syria, where they have deployed along with Iran-backed militias and Russian troops to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the seven-year-old civil war.
Israel said the Iranian salvo of 20 Grad and Fajr rockets were shot down by its Iron Dome air defence system or fell short of the Golan targets. The Quds Force, an external arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, carried out the launch, Israel said.
Syrian state media said dozens of Israeli missile strikes hit a radar station, Syrian air defense positions and an ammunition dump.
Thursday's flare-up came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a visit to Moscow, where he discussed Syria concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Conricus said Israel forewarned Russia of its strikes on Thursday, which Syrian state media first reported hit Baath City in Quneitra, near the border. Further waves of missiles followed. Syrian state media said Israeli missiles had been brought down over Damascus, Homs and Sueida.
