JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's military said its missile defence system shot down four rockets fired from Syria towards Israel early on Tuesday.
Minutes earlier, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire sounded in the area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
"Four launches were identified from Syria towards Israeli territory which were intercepted by the Israeli air defence systems," the army said. "No hits on Israeli communities were identified."
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed and settled it - moves not accepted by most world powers.
Israel says it needs to keep the plateau as a buffer zone between Israeli towns and the instability of its neighbour to the north. Syria insists that the part of the Golan held by Israel is occupied territory and has demanded its return.
(Reporting by Stephen Farrell and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)