Itongadol.- Two mortars launched from Syria exploded in an open field in the Golan Heights on Monday.
No injuries were reported.
Initial indications were that the shells were accidentally fired into Israel in the midst of a battle between the Syrian army and rebels
IDF Northern Command head Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan said Monday that while the army is prepared for any conflict, Israel is not heading for war.
"Alongside readiness in the North – it will always be right to prepare and train – but there are no winds of war," Golan said at the Annual Golani Brigade race.
Israel is trying to avoid an increase in tensions with Syria by "making clear that if there is activity, it is only against Hezbollah, not against the Syrian regime," Likud MK and former Defense Committee chairman Tzahi Hanegbi told Israel Radio on Monday.
Hanegbi noted Israel had not formally acknowledged carrying out the raids in an effort to allow Assad to save face, adding that Netanyahu began a scheduled visit to China on Sunday to signal the sense of business as usual.
The Assad government has condemned the air strikes as tantamount to a "declaration of war" and threatened unspecified retaliation.
But Hanegbi said Israel was ready for any development if the Syrians misinterpreted its messages and was ready "to respond harshly if indeed there is aggression against us".
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