Syrian Foreign Ministry says Israeli actions are part of its policy of assisting rebels fighting the Assad regime.
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© ReutersIsraeli soldiers stand atop tanks in the Golan Heights near Israel's border with Syria March 19, 2014.
The Syrian government acknowledged on Monday that Israel struck targets inside its territory overnight.

In its first official statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry claimed four were killed and nine injured in Israeli strikes.

In what it termed a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty, the Foreign Ministry stated that "Israel's new aggression comes within the context of direct and consistent support it provides terrorists in the area, following the Syrian regime's successful battle against them."

The Israel Air Force struck nine military targets, among them command centers, in response to Sunday's cross-border missile shooting, which killed an Israeli teenager and wounded his father and two other civilians in the Golan Heights.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry additionally claimed five Israeli planes, accompanied by mortar rounds and tank shells, carried out the attack.

Ten people were killed in the Israeli strike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the British-based organization, told DPA that the strikes destroyed two tanks and seven army posts.

Earlier Monday, a Syrian opposition operative said that the Israeli strikes caused severe damage to Syrian army tanks, armored personnel carriers and a command center.