Iran says an Israeli airstrike on Syria's capital Damascus killed members of its elite force, creating a tense situation between Israel and Iran. Iran, which backs Hamas, has implied that it would take retaliatory action against Israel.

Iran's state-run media reported that the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on Saturday that says five members were killed in an Israeli air attack. It says that they were military advisers.

Iran's foreign ministry says that Iran reserves its right to respond at the appropriate time and place.

Israel has not responded yet, but during a news conference on Thursday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that "we are attacking Iran" directly.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued its airstrikes and land operations across a wide area of the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

It said that it killed Hamas fighters in Khan Younis in the south and found and destroyed rockets and launchers near Gaza city in the north.

The Israeli military also dropped leaflets from the air in Khan Younis and other locations that include photographs of hostages and ask for information.

The health authorities in Gaza said on Saturday that Israeli strikes had killed 165 people over the past 24 hours, which brought the total of overall deaths since current fighting began to 24,927.