Israeli tanks on move after Palestinian mortar attack

TEL AVIV — Israeli tank movements were reported after Palestinians fired mortars on a southern Israeli city in the first such attack in the more than six-month-old mini-war. Meanwhile, the Syrian military has been placed on alert in wake of an Israeli attack on a Syrian radar position in Lebanon.

Nobody was injured in the Monday evening attack on the Israeli city of Sderot. At least three mortars landed in western portion of the city.

It was the first Palestinian mortar attack on an Israeli city and breaks a lull of three days in such attacks by the Palestinian Authority. Earlier, PA mortar attacks targeted Israeli military and Jewish settlements in and around the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military sources said the Jewish state would respond to the Palestinian attack. An hour after the attack, Palestinian sources reported Israeli tank movement in the Gaza Strip as well as shelling of PA installations.

Palestinian sources said the PA attack was in response to the Israeli military raid of the Gaza city of Rafah over the weekend. Earlier, the PA had cancelled a meeting with Israeli security officials scheduled for Monday evening that was to have discussed an end to the mini-war.

Israeli military sources said the Syrian military was placed on alert on late Monday. But the sources said Israel has not detected any exceptional movement by Syrian troops either in Lebanon or Syria.

The alert came after several Syrian generals toured the damage of what was regarded as the most strategic Syrian radar site in Lebanon. The site in Dahr Al Baidar was destroyed in an Israeli air attack on early Monday by four Israeli warplanes.

Israeli military sources said the Syrian military was taken by surprise by the Israeli air force attack. They said Syria delayed its response for hours as the regime of President Bashar Assad sought to determine the extent of damage.

Syrian officials have warned that Damascus will retaliate for the Israeli attack. They did not elaborate.

"It [Israel] will earn a suitable response at a suitable time," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shaara said during a visit to Moscow.