In response to the rockets fired by an Iranian force from Syrian territory at Israel, IDF fighter jets struck dozens of military targets of the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian Armed Forces, including surface-to-air missiles, headquarters, weapons warehouses and military bases, overnight Tuesday.

During the IDF strike, a Syrian air defense missile was fired, despite clear warnings to refrain from such fire. Consequently, a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were destroyed.

“Yesterday’s Iranian attack towards Israel is further clear proof of the purpose of the Iranian entrenchment in Syria, which threatens Israeli security, regional stability and the Syrian regime,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

“Furthermore, the IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible for actions taken in its territory and warns it from operating or allowing hostilities against Israel. Such actions will be followed by a severe response,” it added.

“The IDF will continue operating firmly and resolutely against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria. The IDF is prepared for various scenarios and will continue operating as long as it takes to safeguard the security of Israeli civilians,” said the IDF Spokesperson.

The Israeli public is required to adhere to Home Front Command instructions, which will be updated according to the situation.

IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman told reporters on Wednesday morning that surface-to-air missile batteries, weapons warehouses, headquarters in the Damascus area and observation posts in the Golan were destroyed in the air strikes. Iranian headquarters and logistical bases in the Damascus area were attacked as well.

“We are prepared for defense and attack. We will respond harshly if there are further attacks. There are no changes in the instructions to the home front,” said Zilberman.

“The wave of strikes was widespread in its objectives. The attack included dozens of components in Damascus, south and west of the city, and in the Golan, including Iranian assets. A number of anti-aircraft missiles were fired and we destroyed the batteries from which they were launched. We are prepared for three scenarios: lack of response, minor response, and more significant response,” he added, noting the attack was coordinated in advance with Russia and the United States.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented on Tuesday night’s air strike in Syria.

“I made it clear that whoever harms us – we will harm him. This is what we did tonight against military targets of the Iranian Quds force and Syrian military targets in Syria. We will continue to maintain Israel’s security firmly,” he said.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett responded to the attack in Syria, saying: “Our message to the Iranian leaders is simple: You are no longer immune. Wherever you send your octopus arms – we will cut them off.”

Syrian television reported earlier on Tuesday night that the country’s air defense systems were deployed against what was described as “hostile targets” over southern Damascus.

According to the reports, the defense systems intercepted a number of missiles fired from Lebanon and Israel’s airspace.

Additional reports indicate that the attack was carried out against Iranian weapons depots. Earlier, an explosion was reported at an airport in the capital.

Syrian television reported that the targets attacked by Israel on Tuesday night were are civilian targets.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the attacks focused on the southern and southwestern suburbs of Damascus, and that there were fatalities.

Syrian security officials told the Russian Sputnik news agency’s Arabic language service that six Israeli fighter jets attacked the Damascus region in two waves from the Galilee region.

The officials claimed that the fighter jets fired a total of 18 missiles, 11 of which were intercepted by Syrian defense systems.

The IDF reported that Syrian anti-air batteries were destroyed after opening fire on the Israeli jets, although a warning was relayed to Damascus to abstain.

The Israeli Air Force avoided hitting Syria’s Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft batteries due to the presence of Russian troops in their vicinity.