The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday after Defence Minister Israel Katz said Syrian leader Ahmad Al Shara was "directly responsible" for rocket fire launched towards Israel for the first time in more than a year.
Two initial rockets fired from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights fell in open areas and caused no injuries, the Israeli military said. Soon after, the military announced it was investigating why sirens were also sounding in the Nazareth area in nearby Galilee.
The warnings came as sirens sounded across large parts of central Israel after a missile launch from Yemen, which the military said it intercepted.
"We consider the Syrian President directly responsible for every threat and firing towards the state of Israel and the full response will come as soon as possible," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. "We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7."
Mr Katz was referring to 2023, when Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel communities, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 people into Gaza as hostages.
The Syrian government denied involvement. "We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilise the region to achieve their own interests," Al Watan News quoted the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying.
"We affirm that Syria has not and will not pose a threat to any party in the region, and that the top priority in southern Syria is to extend state authority and end the presence of weapons outside official institutions, ensuring security and stability for all citizens."
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out strikes in southern Syria after the rocket fire. Israel also bombed western Syria in recent days, killing at least one person.
Syria's official Sana news agency reported shelling "targeting the Yarmuk Basin, in the west of Daraa" province.
UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties.
"Violent explosions shook southern Syria, notably the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes" overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the monitor said in a statement.
Syrian President Mr Al Shara last month said that his government is holding indirect talks with Israel to bring an end to its attacks on Syria.
Israel has said the strikes are aimed at countering threats from Iran and its proxies, particularly Hezbollah.
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Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)
Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE squad
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
