Watch | Israel drops massive bomb in Syria that causes 'mini-earthquake'

Israel has said it is destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

An airstrike by Israel on Thursday caused an explosion so humungous that it could be felt more than 500 metres away, as per several media reports.

A number of videos of the explosion—which occurred in the coastal Tartus region of Syria—showing a huge orange ball of fire followed by its sound, went viral on social media.

One can get an idea of the magnitude of the explosion from the fact that it was detected by a magnetometer stationed 820 kilometres away from the blast site, as per a report by MailOnline.

It also created a 'mini-earthquake' measuring 3.0 on seismic sensors.

Some online portals are of the opinion that the blast ended up being so big because the bomb was exploded on arms stockpiles. Check out the video below:

The New York Times quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organisation, to reveal that Israel has been carrying out a wave of airstrikes, targeting former army positions in Syria, including air defense sites and missile warehouses.

Besides such strikes, Israel also agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago.

"Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

Israel said it is destroying strategic weapons and military infrastructure to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, have condemned what they called Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.

(With Reuters inputs)