Israel on alert amid possible strike on Syria

The Israeli military is on high alert amid possibilities of a US strike on Syria, which may result in a Syrian missile attack against Israel.

A military source Wednesday confirmed to Xinhua that Patriot anti-aircraft batteries were deployed in the northern city of Haifa and other spots in northern Israel, as well as in central Israel.

The source could not specify how many batteries were deployed, yet noted that the state of alert level in the aerial defence units has been stepped up amid the mounting tensions with Syria, Xinhua reported.

An Israeli Air Force officer told Channel 10 news that the recently deployed Patriot batteries, surface-to-air missile batteries able to intercept ballistic missiles, were stationed next to "strategic sites" and major population centres, aimed to fully protect Israeli communities from possible missile attacks.

In addition to the anti-aircraft and missiles batteries, the Walla news website reported that the Israeli Air Force has enhanced its intelligence gathering efforts above Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria.

The Israeli security cabinet, consisting of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon and several other top ministers, convened Wednesday to discuss the situation in Syria.

On Tuesday, following another meeting of the security cabinet, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel is "ready for any scenario".

"We are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond with strength," Netanyahu said.