Israel has seized land along its border with Syria and carried out air strikes on Damascus.

Benjamin Netanyahu said IDF troops had captured a buffer zone in the Golan Heights on the same day a lightning rebel offensive toppled the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Netanyahu said the move was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions, and after rebel fighters infiltrated the UN monitored area.

It came as Israeli fighter jets began a bombardment of weapons sites in Damascus, as the Jewish state took preventive measures to quash weapons leftover from the Assad regime getting into the hands of extremists.