Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused on Thursday Iran of crossing a “red line” in its attack against Israel from Syria.
The attack late on Wednesday prompted Israel to launch attacks of its own against Iranian targets in Syria.
"Iran has crossed a red line. Our reaction was a consequence," the Israeli leader said in a video posted on social media. "The Israeli army carried out an extensive attack against Iranian targets in Syria."
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.
Israel said 20 rockets, either Fajr or Grad type, were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at around midnight. It blamed the rocket fire on Iran's Quds force, adding that Israel's anti-missile system intercepted four while the rest did not land in its territory. No Israelis were wounded.
"We are in a prolonged campaign and our policy is clear: We will not allow Iran to establish itself militarily in Syria," Netanyahu said.
The raids, which a monitor said killed 23 fighters, were one of the largest Israeli military operations in recent years and the biggest such assault on Iranian targets, the Israeli military said.
"We hit nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria," said Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
"I hope we've finished this episode and everyone understood."
The exchange of fire came after weeks of rising tensions and followed US President Donald Trump's decision Tuesday to withdraw from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a move Israel had long advocated.
The escalation in the region drew global calls for calm.
The bombardment led to immediate calls for restraint from Russia, France, Germany and Britain, while the United States put the blame squarely on Iran and stressed Israel's right to "self-defense".
The US urged "all nations to make clear that the Iranian regime's action pose a severe threat to international peace and stability."
"Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bears full responsibility for the consequences of its reckless actions, and we call on the IRGC and its militant proxies, including ‘Hezbollah’, to take no further provocative steps," it said.
"The Iranian regime's deployment into Syria of offensive rocket and missile systems aimed at Israel is an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East.
A French foreign ministry spokesman warned Tehran "against any temptation for regional dominance", a matter that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian would address in talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif next week.
The foreign ministry reiterated France's "unwavering support for Israel's security and condemns all attempts to harm it."
It also called for "restraint by all sides in order to avoid a dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for dialogue between Israel and Iran.
"This is a very disturbing trend. We proceed from the fact that all issues should be solved through dialogue," Lavrov said at a press conference.
He added that Russia had warned Israel to avoid "all actions that could be seen as provocative" the day before the strikes, when Netanyahu was in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
