DAMASCUS (AFP) - Israeli shelling struck a town south of Damascus on Wednesday (Feb 16) evening, causing material damage, according to Syrian state media.

This is the second Israeli aerial strike on Syria this month, after Israel targeted anti-aircraft batteries on Feb 9 in response to a missile fired from Syria.

"The Israeli enemy carried out a strike with several surface-to-surface missiles" from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, targeting the town of Zakiya at around 11.35 pm (2135GMT), SANA said, citing a military source.

A war monitor said the target of Wednesday's shelling was a Syrian army post.

"The shelling targeted a regime military post," Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

The British-based monitor relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.

Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes, targeting government positions as well as Iran-backed forces and fighters of the Shia militant movement Hezbollah.

Israel has repeatedly said it seeks to prevent its arch foe Iran from extending a footprint in Syria.