'Hizbollah fighter' killed in Israeli air strike in Golan

Israeli Air Force planes also hit a series of Syrian targets. The skirmishes marked the most significant engagements between the countries since the start of the Syrian civil war.

An anti-aircraft missile was fired at Israeli planes by the Syrian air defence system.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s defence secretary, said today that Israel would destroy anti-aircraft batteries if Syria fired at his country’s planes again.

The operation to take out the Hizbollah fighter was reported on social media accounts in Syria and close to the incident near Quneitra.

Accounts linked to Bashar al-Assad named al-Sayed as a local resident. Israeli sites reported he was a key member of the terror group, while some Syrian sites also suggested he was Assad’s air force commander.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, confirmed on Friday that air strikes had taken place.

The rare admission saw Mr Netanyahu comment: “Our policy is very consistent.

“When we detect attempts to transfer advanced weapons to Hizbollah, and we have the intelligence and feasibility to carry out an operation, we will work to prevent it."