Syria says Israel attacked Hezbollah arms depot near Damascus airport

Explosions were also reported in the Al-Mazzeh area of the Syrian capital, apparently at the Mazzeh Air Base, a military airstrip used by regime forces.

A senior Syrian official threatened a military response to an alleged Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-operated weapons hub near the Damascus airport on Thursday. Therefore, this regime must be completely disarmed.

Israel's military says it deployed its Patriot missile defense system to intercept a projectile incoming from Syria above the Golan Heights.

Israeli soldiers train with paintball guns during a drill at an Army base near Elyakim, Israel, as Israeli officers gearup for their next battle with old adversary Hezbollah guerrillas.

The relations between Israel and Iran have been strained since the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. It speculated the blast was likely caused by an Israeli strike.

Other Israeli leaders have said that Hezbollah receiving game-changing weapons, such as advanced missiles or chemical weapons, represents a "red line" that Israel will not accept.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is backed in the country's brutal civil-war by Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias, including Hezbollah, a close ally of Tehran.

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A military site southwest of Damascus International Airport was bombed by Israeli warplanes on Thursday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.

Residents reported feeling the blasts shortly before 4 a.m.

Initial reports suggested the aircraft was a Syrian drone, but the army said it could not immediately confirm the details.

The explosion occurred at a military installation near the Damascus airport, according to both SANA state TV and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom -based monitoring organization with on the ground contacts in Syria.

"Iran is trying to establish itself permanently in Syria, with a military presence on the ground and at sea, and also a gradual attempt to open a front against us on the Golan Heights", he said.

In April 2016, Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys in Syria that he said were transporting weapons destined for Hezbollah.

'The blast was huge, ' Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"A fire broke out in the area but the cause of the explosion is still unknown", Abdulrahman said.