Mon May 6, 2013 AT 11:22 AM EDT
Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Reuters reports. Local people reported massive explosions and internet video showed the capital’s skyline lit by flashes. The Syrian government immediately blamed Israel for the explosions, whose power appeared to far outstrip that of any weapons in the rebel arsenal. The New York Times is reporting that Israeli officials refused to confirm that Israeli forces carried out the strikes, which the Syrian deputy foreign minister, speaking on CNN, called “an act of war.” Syria has aimed missile batteries aimed at Israel in the aftermath according to The Jerusalem Post, and Iran has called for regional unity against Israel, Reuters reports.