Jerusalem: Confrontation between Israel and Iranian forces sharply escalated on Thursday after Iranian forces launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights early on Thursday, Israel said, prompting one of the heaviest Israeli barrages in Syria since the conflict there began in 2011.

The attack into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights marks the first time Iranian forces have fired directly onto Israeli troops from Syria, where Iran-backed Hezzbolah militias support President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.

Commuters drive past a giant wall mural proclaiming the destruction of Israel in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. Credit:Bloomberg

Dozens of Israeli missiles hit a radar station, Syrian air defence positions and an ammunition dump, Syrian state media said, underscoring the risks of a wider escalation involving Iran and its regional allies. Israeli media said 28 Israeli jets fired mroe than 60 missiles into Syria.

Afterwards Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said "I hope we finished this chapter and everyone got the message".