The Israeli attacks began late on Friday evening. They lasted for over an hour, according to the AP news agency's journalists on the spot in the country.
Syria's state-run news agency Sana reported early on about at least one death and several injured. It accounts for attacks in several parts of the country: against the capital area of Damascus and the provinces of Hama, Latakia, and Dara.
Israel carried out more than 20 air strikes, according to the Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR), which follows the conflict situation in Syria with the help of a network of sources on the ground. SOHR describes it as the most extensive Israeli attack on targets in Syria so far this year.
Confirms an attack
Israel's military announces that it has attacked "a military site" in Syria, described as an air defense facility.
Earlier on Friday, Israel carried out air bombings near the presidential palace in Damascus, which Israel's Prime Minister and Defense Minister called "a clear message to the Syrian regime".
During the past week, more than 100 people have been killed in sectarian-charged clashes in the capital area around Damascus. On one side are the Druze, a religious minority group, and on the other, armed forces linked to the new Syrian Islamist government.
Israel, which took another step into Syria in connection with the power shift there in December, has vowed to protect the Druze and promised to intervene if they are attacked.
Audio clip ignited
The new rulers in Syria present themselves as more moderate Islamists who want to meet division with tolerance. However, in their armed leadership and in more or less associated groups, there are many Sunni Muslim extremists.
The violent development this week comes after earlier massacres that have affected the Alawite minority. The spark that ignited this case is reported to be an audio clip that has spread, where a man said to be a Druze is heard insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Leaders among the Druze have emphasized that they stand behind the country's new government and the government has announced that it has sent forces to quell the violence.
