The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, announced on Monday the death of one of its commanders in an Israeli attack in Syria, vowing to avenge his killing, France Presse reported.

“Brigadier General Razi Mousavi, one of the most important advisors of the Guards in Syria, was killed” during “an attack by the Zionist regime carried out a few hours ago,” the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement, according to Agerpres.

They presented General Mousavi as the “leader of logistics for the axis of resistance” (armed groups fighting against Israel, not) in Syria.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSHR), which has an extensive network of sources in Syria, reported on Monday Israeli strikes on positions used by Iranian groups and Hezbollah in Lebanon in the Sayida Zeinab area.

Israel rarely comments on its operations in Syria, but says it wants to prevent Iran, its arch-enemy, from gaining a foothold near it. Asked Monday about Mousavi’s death, the Israeli military said it “does not comment on foreign media reports.”

The Islamic Republic is one of the main international backers of the Palestinian movement Hamas, whose attack on October 7 killed an estimated 1,140 people, mostly civilians, in Israel, according to AFP data based on the latest official Israeli figures.

In early December, Iran announced the killing of two Revolutionary Guard officers during Israeli airstrikes on Tehran-backed Hezbollah targets.

An ally of other pro-Iranian groups such as Hamas, the latter has been firing rockets into northern Israel every day since October 7.

Armed groups linked to the Revolutionary Guard have a strong presence in Syria, but Tehran denies sending troops to fight in Syria, saying it only has military advisers in the war-torn country.

Iran, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has provided him with economic, political and military support since the start of the war, which began in 2011 after suppressing anti-government protests.