Israel has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean, amid heightened tension over possible Western military strikes on Syria.
The test came as the US Congress prepared for its first public hearing on a possible military response to alleged chemical weapons use by Syria.
'Clear signal'
A senior Israeli defence official confirmed to the BBC that a missile had been fired on Tuesday to test its defence systems.
The defence ministry said Israel's Arrow missile defence system had successfully detected and tracked a Sparrow medium-range guided missile fired as part of the test.
The BBC's Richard Galpin in Jerusalem says tests like this are usually planned long in advance.
But he says it is still a sign that Israel is taking very seriously the possibility that any US air strikes could lead to retaliatory attacks on Israel - either by Syria itself or by its ally, the Shia militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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