Israel in Partial Army Reserve Call-Up over Syria

The Israeli cabinet authorized on Wednesday a partial call-up of army reservists amid growing expectations of a foreign military strike on neighboring Syria, army radio reported.

The unspecified number of troops are attached to units stationed in the north of the country, which borders both Lebanon and the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, it said.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement telling Israelis that, after discussions Wednesday on the security situation, there was "no need to change their daily habits."

"At the same time, we are ready for all scenarios," the premier added. "The Israeli army is ready to defend against all threats and respond firmly to any attempt to harm Israeli citizens."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army said the Jewish nation was bolstering its defense systems, ahead of a possible U.S. attack on Syria that could spill across the Jewish state's northern border.

"In light of the recent occurrences in the region, the Israeli Army is taking the necessary defensive measures to safeguard the state of Israel," military sources said.

"These measures include both active and passive defense mechanisms".

Army radio reported the military was moving Iron Dome missile defense systems in the north, as well as one Patriot missile defense battery to the western Galilee.

The United States and its allies blame Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime for chemical weapons attacks near Damascus last week, in which hundreds are said to have died, and are mulling military strikes.

Israeli media said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his eight-member security cabinet for consultations on the Syria situation.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu had vowed a fierce reaction to "any attempt to hurt us" from Syria or its allies, in a possible reaction to a U.S. attack.

But army spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai tried to play down tensions on Wednesday, stressing there was no room for alarm at this stage.

The military was constantly "examining, monitoring and following the developments" in and regarding Syria, he wrote on Facebook, but there was "no reason to change our daily routines."

Nevertheless, Israelis continued to rush to replace old gas masks, in case of possible Syrian retaliation.

An Agence France Presse correspondent reported long queues at a Tel Aviv post office serving as a distribution center for the masks.

And in the Knesset, a parliamentary committee on home front preparedness was holding a special emergency session. Ahead of the meeting, committee head Eli Yishai, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, blamed the government for closing gas-mask factories and not allocating sufficient funds for purchasing masks.

According to Yishai, 40 percent of Israel's citizens have yet to collect new gas masks.

Home front defense minister Gilad Erdan was to convene an emergency meeting later in the day.