Damascus, Nov 11 (IANS): Seven civilians, including women and children, were killed and 20 others injured in an Israeli airstrike near Syria's capital, Damascus, the country's Defence Ministry reported.

The ministry said in a statement that around 5 p.m. local time, the Israeli "enemy" launched an airstrike from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting a residential building in the Sayyidah Zaynab area in the countryside of Damascus, Xinhua news agency reported.

The attack also caused significant damage to private properties, it added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, previously reported that the strike hit a flat in a residential building inhabited by Lebanese nationals and Hezbollah members in the area.

Sayyidah Zaynab, located south of the Syrian capital, is home to a prominent Shiite shrine and has been the target of Israeli attacks in the past.

Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes in Syria in recent years, targeting what it says are Iranian military assets and arms intended for transfer to Hezbollah.