Israel carries out dramatic airstrikes against sworn enemies Iran in Syria before issuing extraordinary rare statement to admit aerial assault

In an extraordinary admission, the Israeli military confirmed early on Monday that it was "currently striking" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in Syria.

The statement said: "We have started striking Iranian Quds targets in Syrian territory.

"We warn the Syrian Armed Forces against attempting to harm Israeli forces or territory."

It came after a series of cross-border attacks on Sunday – including an audacious airstrike near Damascus airport.

Israeli missile defenses later intercepted an incoming missile over the Golan Heights.

RARE ADMISSION

Until now, Israel has largely refrained from public admissions of its covert military operations in neighbouring Syria.

It has been cautious to avoid large-scale involvement in the eight-year civil war there.

The Syrian military said Israel carried out intensive airstrikes with successive waves of guided missiles shortly after 1am.

But a spokesperson added that Syrian air defenses destroyed most of the missiles before they reached their targets.

ATTACK SCUPPERED

On Sunday, Syrian state media said air defenses repelled an Israeli air raid near the international airport south of Damascus.

State TV said Syria's air defenses "prevented" the attack from achieving its goals.

It said Israel targeted six missiles on an area near Damascus International Airport, of which five were shot down and one diverted to nearby empty farmland.

Residents of the capital said they heard five explosions early Sunday afternoon, apparently the sound of air defenses firing into the air.

Israeli warplanes have used Lebanon's airspace recently to strike deep inside Syria – including attacking a warehouse near Damascus International Airport earlier this month, according to Syrian state media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently confirmed that Israel has struck hundreds of targets in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group – including a weapons facility two weeks ago.

Iran and Hezbollah are allied with the Syrian government in the civil war.

Netanyahu, who currently is on a visit to Chad, said in a statement: "We have a defined policy: to harm Iranian entrenchment in Syria and to harm anyone who tries to harm us."

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