Jerusalem, May 10 (IANS): Israel bombed dozens of Iranian military targets in Syria on Thursday as a retaliation against an alleged rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights area by Tehran, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) said.

On Wednesday night, Iran had allegedly launched 20 rockets at Israel from outside Damascus, around 40 km from the border, although no casualties were reported, reports Efe news.

The attack, if confirmed, would mark the first time Iran has fired rockets in a direct strike on Israeli forces.

"The IDF has struck dozens of Iranian military targets in Syria in response to the Iranian rocket attack against Israel," spokesperson Jonathan Conricus tweeted.

Conricus accused the Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, led by Major General Qasem Soleimani, of carrying out the rocket attack and told reporters that the Israeli strikes were part of an ongoing operation in which the IDF had managed to foil a number of similar attacks from Iran.

Israel had intercepted four of the rockets, while the rest fell inside the country but failed to hit any of the targets.

Conricus said Israel's operation was one of the biggest air operations in recent years and the biggest against Iranian targets.

The IDF spokesperson said that the strikes focused on destroying Iranian capacities in Syria while avoiding civilian casualties.

None of the Israeli fighters suffered any damage despite anti-aircraft firing from Syria, he added.

Authorities urged the citizens of Golan Heights - the intended target of the rocket attacks -- to be on alert while stressing that normal life would resume in the area.

"IDF remains ready for various scenarios but does not seek to escalate the situation," Conricus tweeted.