According to Syria’s military, at least five people were killed by an Israeli missile strike against Damascus.

The Syrian capital was rocked by loud explosions. State media company SANA reported that the air defenses of the city were facing “hostile targets in the skies”.

SANA cited a military source to report that five people were killed and fifteen civilians were injured in the “destruction of several residential buildings”.

The death toll was put by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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These strikes were the first since the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria 6 February.

Israel did not immediately respond to the attack.

Israel has been conducting airstrikes on suspected Iranian-sponsored weapons transfer for almost a decade

Personnel deployments in Syria

According to Western intelligence sources, Iran has increased its military presence in Syria over the past few years. It has a foothold within most state-controlled areas with thousands of members of paramilitary groups and militias under its command.

Israel has increased its strikes on Syrian airbases and airports in recent months to stop Iran’s growing use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms and ammunition to its allies in Syria, Lebanon and Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran.