A column of smoke arising from a reported Israeli strike on a military target near Damascus, Syria, on May 10. Photo: Reuters/Omar Sanadiki.

Israeli planes targeted a military position near the province of Hama in Syria on Saturday, but Syrian air defenses intercepted and downed some of the rockets, Syrian state television said on Saturday.

Citing military sources, SANA news agency and Syrian state television said that Israeli aircraft had targeted “one of our military positions toward the city of Masyaf.”

“The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA added.

Since the Syrian civil war started, Israel has carried out scores of military strikes in Syria against suspected arms transfers and deployments by Iranian forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies who are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.