Israel carried out airstrikes on targets near Damascus early on Friday, triggering Syrian air defences but causing no casualties, Syrian state media reported. This was the second such attack in just over two weeks.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the report.

A Syrian military source quoted by state media said Syrian air defences shot down most of the Israeli missiles and only material damage was done in the attack launched at 1:26 a.m.

Israel has for several years been mounting attacks on what it has described as Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have established a presence since deploying to help Bashar Assad in the Syrian conflict that erupted in 2011.

Overnight, around the time Syria reported the airstrike, many residents of central Israel reported hearing a large explosion.

Israeli news website Ynet reported that it was an anti-aircraft missile fired from Syria which exploded over the sea. The Israeli army had no immediate comment.

Blasts were also heard in Lebanon, from whose air space the attack was launched, a Lebanese security source said.

Syrian TV showed footage of air defenses shooting at the targets.

"The Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction southeast of Beirut, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus," a Syrian military source was quoted as saying in a statement published on state television.

Syria last reported an Israeli airstrike on Aug. 19, which it said targeted areas near Damascus and Homs.

Israel regularly says it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of its sworn enemy Iran.

The Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 with the regime's repression of pro-democracy protests, has grown increasingly complex over the past decade, drawing in more and more parties.