At the same time as Israel was attacking Gaza, media reports said its warplanes were attacking different targets in Syria, killing at least six people, including Palestinians.

Six people have been killed in the Israeli air attack on Damascus, a war monitor said on Monday, as Israel confirmed raids on the Syrian capital as well as on the besieged Gaza Strip.

A statement from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) resistance group on Monday said two men, who were members of the group, were killed during the "Zionist bombing in Damascus", which took place late on Sunday night.

"This cowardly aggression in Damascus was a reflection of the enemy's failure to confront our fighters inside occupied Palestine," the PIJ said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, later said the attacks were "near the Damascus international airport".

The Syrian state news agency SANA said "most of the enemy missiles were shot down before reaching their targets", stressing that "no airport" was struck.

Israel claimed it launched the attack south of Damascus following rocket fire from the Palestinian territory, Gaza.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of raids in Syria, mainly targeting Syrian government forces as well as allied groups.