The Syrian government claimed Monday that airstrikes launched by Israel last night killed four people and wounded nine. So far Syria has not said if it will retaliate; if it does, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised not to back down.

The airstrikes were retaliation for a cross-border attack on Sunday that killed an Israeli teen boy in a civilian vehicle. It's still not clear if Syrian rebels or government forces launched the attack, which was the first deadly incident on the Israeli-Syrian border since the Syrian civil war began three years ago.

Netanyahu told members of his Likud party today, "Last night we operated with great force against Syrian targets that acted against us, and if needed we will use additional force. We will continue to forcefully hurt anyone who attacks us or tries to attack us." The Syrian government said that five Israeli warplanes carried out the strikes, and that in addition to the casualties, Syrian army positions and equipment were damaged.

This isn't the first time Israel has retaliated for violence on the border. It launched strikes on Syrian army positions in the Golan Heights in March after a bomb planted on the border fence wounded four Israeli soldiers.

[Image via AP]