A chemical weapons storage facility was hit

The AP reports Sa'ar's statement that the locations where the Syrian long-range missiles were located were also hit in order to prevent this arsenal from falling into the hands of the enemy.

"The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens. That is why we attacked strategic weapons systems, such as, for example, the remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles, so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists," Gideon Sa'ar told reporters on Monday.

Syrian rebels arrived in Damascus over the weekend and ousted the government of President Bashar al-Assad after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Israelis have welcomed the fall of Assad, who was a key ally of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, while expressing concern about what comes next.

Israel says its forces have temporarily occupied a buffer zone inside Syria that dates back to a 1974 agreement after Syrian troops retreated in chaos.

The White House said yesterday that it had been "focused" on the issue of any remaining chemical weapons in Syria over the past week and said the administration was taking "prudent measures" regarding the chemical weapons.

A senior US official said it was a "highest-level priority" and that the US was making sure everything related to those types of derivatives, "from chlorine to, much worse," was "destroyed or disposed of."