Illustrative: Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli air strike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7, 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

The Russian army in Syria activated electronic defense systems that interfered with GPS in the region during Israeli retaliatory strikes on Syrian targets, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

The Israeli air strikes came early Wednesday morning in response to a Syrian anti-aircraft missile that breached Israeli air space and then exploded in midair.

“Following the anti-aircraft missile launch earlier tonight, the Israel Defense Forces attacked surface-to-air missile batteries and radar that fired at Israeli air force planes,” the IDF said on Twitter.

According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the GPS interference was based at a Russian base in the Syrian port city of Latakia and interfered with electro-magnetic waves in the eastern Mediterranean area.

It is not the first time the system has been activated. Two weeks ago, Israeli civilian planes had difficulties landing at Ben-Gurion Airport due to the interference.

Israel conveyed a message regarding the interference to the Russians, who responded that they were seeking to protect their military personnel. In addition, Israel worked to neutralize the effect of the systems. Israel believes that Russia was attempting to send a message that it is “the landlord” in Syria.

Israel has launched numerous air strikes against targets in Syria, particularly those connected to Iran and its terror proxies. It says this is intended to prevent Iranian entrenchment on Israel’s northern border.

For the most part, Russia has tolerated the strikes despite its heavy presence in the war-torn country, and Israel has worked closely with Russia to avoid harm to Russian personnel.