Israel has denied a claim by Syria that it shot down an Israeli plane carrying out pre-dawn raids on a military target near Palmyra (AFP Photo/)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli warplanes struck several targets in Syria early Friday, prompting retaliatory missiles launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago. The Israeli warplanes targeted a military site near Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs, said the Army’s Command, confirming that the Syria air defense forces confronted the enemy’s aircrafts and shot down one of them inside the occupied territories, hit another and forced the other two to withdraw. It would not say whether any other missiles struck Israeli-held territory, but said the safety of Israeli civilians and Israeli aircraft was “not compromised.”

The army said the incident set off sirens in Jewish settlement communities in the Jordan Valley, part of the West Bank. In a statement, the military said the Syrian air force fired numerous anti-aircraft missiles at the warplanes and the Israeli air force “intercepted one of the missiles.”

The explosion caused by the incident set off sirens in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank and the blast was heard as far as Jerusalem al-Quds, according to the Israeli military statement. Israel seized parts of that region from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War

The Israeli military said then that Syria fired two anti-aircraft missiles at its jets targeting artillery positions, but both missiles missed. The escalation was also reported by Avijaa Adraei, spokesman of the Israeli Army, who tweeted that “while targeting several objectives in Syria, the Israeli warplanes were targeted by anti-aircraft missiles fired by the Syrian Army.”

Adraei pointed out that one of the missiles was intercepted by the Iron Dome and crashed in an area to the north of Jerusalem. Repeated incursions

Israel has attempted to stay out of Syria's civil war but has reportedly struck the country multiple times in the past, often taking aim at weapons shipments intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli Air Force launches several airstrikes on targets inside Syria, and for the first time, publicly claims responsibility. Syrian air defenses responded by launching missiles at the aircraft, and thereupon Israeli Arrow 3 missiles were launched in response to the counter-offensive. Israel stated that it was targeting suspected weapons shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon, adding that the Israeli military will keep intervening until they believe such shipments have ceased. According to the Syrian Army, four Israeli jets entered its airspace and struck targets near Palmyra.