Israeli airstrikes in central Syria killed at least 11 government troops and pro-Iranian militiamen late Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that the strikes were the first carried out by Israel in Syria since 11 days of heavy fighting with the Hamas rulers of Gaza ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on May 21, the Britain-based war monitor said.

“At least seven army soldiers and four National Defence Forces militiamen were killed,” Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP, adding that all of the dead were Syrian.