Russia has said it is ‘deeply concerned’ over reports that Israeli jets attacked a scientific research centre inside Syria.

The country has held back from condemning the action as yet, but says it will do so if the report is true.

Syria announced on Wednesday that an Israeli air strike attacked the research centre after reports had emerged out of Israel earlier claiming a convoy had been attacked on the Syria-Lebanon border.

Syrian officials claimed Israeli jets had entered their airspace at low altitude, under the radar, and hit the facility in Jamraya, near Damascus, killing two site workers.

In a statement carried by the state news agency, SANA, the Syrian army’s general command said: “Israeli fighter jets violated our air space at dawn today and carried out a direct strike on a scientific research centre in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence.

“They … carried out an act of aggression, bombarding the site, causing large-scale material damage and destroying the building,” state television quoted the military as saying.

Earlier reports had claimed that Israeli jets had hit a convoy allegedly carrying weapons to Lebanon’s Hizbollah movement. The attack took place just inside Syria.

Four warplanes took part in the assault and dropped nine rockets, Lebanese TV station Al-Manar reported, citing military sources.

The strike caused material damage to the center and a nearby building, killing two workers and wounding five others, the statement added. The Israeli warplanes flew low to evade radar detection, and “snuck in from the north of Al-Sheikh Mountain” according to the report, which called the strike a “blatant act of aggression” against Syria and accused Israel of supporting terrorism in the country.

Anonymous US officials told both the AP and the New York Times that Israeli jets had hit a convoy carrying Syrian weapons to Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The NYT also reported that Israel had warned the US prior to the attack, citing anonymous officials.

The Syrian military has categorically denied there was an attack on a weapons convoy, despite Reuters reports that chemical weapons are stored in the area. However, it was “possible” that the convoy was near the large military site when it came under attack, diplomatic sources told Reuters.

Hezbollah also stated that the attack targeted a Syrian research center and was an attempt to cripple Syrian military capabilities. It declared its full solidarity for Syria’s “leadership, army and people” in a statement.

Israel had reported planned the airstrike for several days and intended to hit a shipment of sophisticated weaponry bound for Hezbollah, which allegedly included chemical weapons and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles.

“This episode boils down to a warning by Israel to Syria and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons,” a regional security source told Reuters.

The IDF has refused to confirm or deny its involvement in the strike.

As news broke of the airstrike in Syria, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned that Tel Aviv would not compromise on Syrian threats to Israeli security.

Russia said on Thursday it was checking reports of an Israeli air strike against Syria but would condemn the “unprovoked” attack if the information proved true.

The foreign ministry said it was “deeply concerned” by Syrian claims its military research centre had come under Israeli fighter jet attack and other reports of bombs being dropped on a convoy near the Lebanese border.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it was taking “urgent measures” to clarify the situation.

A Russian ministry statement said: “If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked strikes against targets located on the territory of a sovereign state, which brazenly infringes on the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motive used for its justification.”

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern at foreign intervention in a country that is its last major ally in the Middle East.

Russia has vetoed three Security Council resolutions sanctioning Assad for violence that UN estimates say has killed more than 60,000 people since March 2011.

“The entire world has said more than once that it takes developments in Syria very seriously, developments which can be in negative directions,” Shalom told Israel Radio, adding that US President Barack Obama had warned of possible American military action should President Assad’s forces use chemical weapons.

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