Iran's state-run media reports the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on Saturday that said five of its members were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Iran's ally Syria.

The statement said an Israeli fighter jet bombed a building in Syria's capital, Damascus.

Footage from the site shows pillars of smoke rising and people evacuating. It also shows heavy machinery removing debris of collapsed buildings.

In December, Israeli airstrikes in Syria killed three Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including a senior adviser.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out retaliatory ballistic missile strikes on Tuesday, targeting a base used by Israel's intelligence agency in northern Iraq.

Iran supports the Islamic group Hamas in its fight against Israel in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its military campaign.

There is growing concern over a possible escalation of retaliatory military exchanges between Iran and Israel, which have been increasingly at odds with each other over the situation in Gaza.