Sirens blare in northern Israel after alleged assassination reported in Syria

Rocket and drone infiltration alerts sounded in northern Israel shortly after the reported airstrike.

 People can be seen on the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, as it is seen from its Israeli side October 15, 2018. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
People can be seen on the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, as it is seen from its Israeli side October 15, 2018.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

Four people were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Madinat al-Baath in the Quneitra region of western Syria, just a few kilometers from the Syrian-Israeli border, on Friday afternoon, according to Syrian reports.

The airstrike targeted a vehicle in the area, according to the reports. Opposition-affiliated journalists in the area reported that the occupants of the car were affiliated with Iran-backed militias operating in the region.

According to the Assad-regime aligned Al-Watan newspaper, four bodies were brought to a nearby hospital, but were so burnt that they could not be identified.

Rocket sirens, drone alerts sound in Kiryat Shmona

Shortly after the airstrike was reported, rocket sirens and drone infiltration alerts sounded in the northern Galilee in and near Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.

A drone is seen ahead of the international ''BLUE GUARDIAN'' drone drill held in Israel. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
A drone is seen ahead of the international ''BLUE GUARDIAN'' drone drill held in Israel. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The reported airstrike came a day after two rockets were fired from Syria toward the Golan Heights. The IDF said it responded to the rocket fire with strikes on sites in Syria, with Syrian media reporting on Thursday evening that Israeli artillery targeted sites near the town of Hadar in Quneitra.

A little less than a week ago, two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes which targeted sites near Damascus early Saturday morning, according to the IRGC.

The two were identified as Mohammad Ali Ataee Shoorche and Panah Taqizadeh, with the IRGC saying they were carrying out an "advisory mission" in Syria.

According to the Syrian Capital Voice news site, those alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted sites in Set Zaynab, Aqraba, and Hudzajra affiliated with Iranian and Iran-backed forces.

The Capital Voice reported at the time that one of the sites targeted was used by Iranian militias to store arms shipments from Iran which were on their way to militias in Syria and to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Another site targeted contained an advanced air defense system. A third site targeted was near an airbase in the Damascus area where Iranian military officials and weapons warehouses are located.

A series of alleged Israeli airstrikes have been reported in Syria since Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The Syrian Capital Voice news site reported on Wednesday that the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, had visited Syria three times since October 7, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Vice President of Syria for Security Affairs Ali Mamlouk.