BEIRUT (AP) — Israel carried out airstrikes on areas near the central Syrian city of Homs early Sunday, causing property damage but no casualties, the Syrian military said in a statement.
Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying air defenses shot down some of the missiles fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon.
Israeli authorities did not comment on the airstrike on Homs, but said one of Syria’s air defense missiles exploded over northern Israel without causing damage.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee later said that the Israeli army responded to the air defense missile that exploded over the north of the country by attacking the Syrian air defense batteries of where the missile had been fired.
“Combat planes also attacked other targets in the area,” Adraee tweeted without giving further details.
Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-held parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them.
The latest alleged Israeli airstrike on Syria took place on June 14, near the capital Damascus, which left one soldier injured.
Israel has also targeted international airports in Damascus and the city of Aleppo in northern Syria on several occasions in recent years, often knocking them out of service.