Israel has attacked Iranian and Syrian military targets in Syria in what it says is retaliation for rockets fired toward Israel the day before, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Avichay Adraee says.

Syria’s air defences were able to destroy most of the missiles fired by Israeli jets over the capital Damascus before they reached their targets, Syria’s state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source.

Israel’s military said its missile defence system shot down four rockets fired from Syria toward Israel on Tuesday (local time).

“Warplanes raided dozens of military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian Army inside Syrian territory, including surface-to-air missiles, headquarters, weapons depots and military bases, in response to yesterday’s rocket fire from Syria towards Israel,” Lt-Col Adraee said on Twitter.

The elite Quds Force is the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

SANA said three were injured as a result of the Israeli counter-attack.

Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against Iranian targets trying to establish a permanent military presence there and against advanced weapon shipments to Tehran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

“Yesterday’s Iranian attack on Israeli territory by firing missiles … is the best proof of Iran’s real cause in Syria. The Iranian position poses a threat to Israel’s security, stability in the region, and the Syrian regime,” Adraee said.

-AAP