MOSCOW

Russia on Thursday urged Israel to cease its strikes on Syria, saying the attacks are "categorically unacceptable and inadmissible."

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly condemned the Israeli actions, stressing that they violate international law.

"We demand that the Israeli side stop this vicious and dangerous practice. We consider it necessary to emphasize that the ongoing Israeli shelling of the territory of Syria is violation of the basic rights of international law, it is categorically unacceptable and inadmissible.

"We strongly condemn such irresponsible actions, which multiply the number of casualties among soldiers and civilians, and pose a real threat of uncontrolled escalation of tension across the region," Zakharova stressed.

The spokeswoman said Israeli strikes weaken the combat potential of the Syrian Armed Forces and negatively affect the efforts to combat terrorism on Syrian soil.

Earlier, a source from the Syrian military said that Israel hit an area near the international airport south of the capital Damascus, with four Syrian soldiers killed and three others injured.

A media report claimed that five fighters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement, fighting on the side of the Syrian army against terrorist groups, were also killed.

This has been the ninth Israeli strike on Syria since the beginning of the year.