Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-A
Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-AReuters

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Tuesday that military forces loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were behind a cross-border attack that killed an Israeli teenager. 

"We received all the analyses and intelligence: it was clear that it was Syrian authorities," Lieberman told IDF Radio

"Assad's forces fired at the Israeli civilian, on the vehicles that had stopped by the border, and they need to pay the price," he added.

The 15-year-old Arab Israeli, the son of a defense ministry contractor, was killed on the Golan Heights on Sunday when a missile hit the car he was in with his father. It was the first death of an Israeli since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011. 

The army said it was a deliberate attack against Israel, but was initially uncertain as to whether regime or opposition forces were behind it.

Israel responded immediately with tank fire, and hours later launched air strikes targeting Syrian military headquarters and positions.

Syria said the strikes killed four soldiers and wounded nine, and on Monday urged the United Nations to condemn Israel's "flagrant violation" of its territory.

Liberman said the Israeli reaction was "just how it should have been", and warned: "That's also how it will be in the future."

"I hope Damascus got the message," he added.

The Israeli army, meanwhile, said it was "observing the border very closely" and was "prepared for any development", but made no major changes in its deployment on the Syrian border.

"It seems that things are under control," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told AFP.