According to the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, Russian anti-aircraft missile systems Pantsir-S have shot down 10 guided bombs and three cruise missiles launched by the Israeli air force at Syria.

Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the center, announced at a press briefing that "The air defense forces on duty shot down 10 guided bombs and three cruise missiles, using Russian-made Pantsir-S systems. As a result of the Israeli air strikes, military infrastructure was damaged. There were no casualties."

According to the Syrian Defense Ministry, "Israel" targeted multiple points in southern Syria late Thursday, but the majority of the missiles launched were intercepted by the country's air defenses.

Earlier on Thursday Syrian state news agency SANA reported explosions were heard near the capital Damascus as air defense systems were activated.

The Syrian defense ministry stated that "Today [on Thursday], around 11:05 p.m. [local time, 20:05 GMT], the Israeli enemy has carried out an air aggression from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, having struck some positions in the southern region [of Syria]. Our air defense systems have responded to the aggressor's missiles and shot down most of them," adding that the attack caused some material damage. 

Syria asked the Secretary General of the United Nations and the President of the UN Security Council to take action to put an end to the hostile policies of the Israeli occupation, which might lead to a regional escalation that would threaten regional and international peace.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent out two copies of one letter to both the Secretary General of the United Nations and the UN Security Council, both of which were discussing the Israeli occupation's aggression on December 25, which manifested in an airstrike that martyred a senior Iranian commander working in the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

The airstrike that killed senior IRGC commander Seyyed Razi Mousavi is a hostile act of aggression that "constitutes a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

"This brutal Israeli aggression against the sovereignty of the Syrian territories is part of the occupation authorities’ attempt to expand and escalate their aggression in the region and to cover up war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and brutal massacres committed daily against the defenseless Palestinian people," the letter read.