Fighter jet
Fighter jetReuters

The Syrian army announced that four Israeli aircraft had entered Syrian airspace overnight and struck a military target near the ancient city of Palmyra.

Syria claimed that it shot down one of the four planes. "Four Israeli planes penetrated our air space at 2:40 AM via Lebanese territory and hit a military target on the way to Palmyra," the army said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

"Our air defense engaged them and shot down one warplane over occupied territory, hit another one and forced the rest to flee," the statement added.

The IDF confirmed that its aircraft were fired upon over Syria Thursday night. However, the IDF stated that the Arrow-3 missile defense system protected the planes from damage.

The IDF statement said that "several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria during the operation. One of the missiles was intercepted by the air defense systems of the IDF.”

An explosion from a Syrian anti-aircraft missile was heard in the city of Modiin south of Tel Aviv in central Israel. Two of the missiles reportedly landed in Israel, while a third reportedly landed in Jordan.

Footage from the wreckage of one of the anti-aircraft missiles circulated on social media Friday morning

Syria threatened to respond harshly to the air strike. "This flagrant attack is part of the Zionist enemy's persistent efforts to support the terrorist gangs of ISIS," the Syrian army said.

"It will be responded to directly with all possible means," it added.