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Israeli jets bombed a convoy near Syria's border with聽Lebanon聽early on Wednesday, sources told Reuters, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah in what some called a warning to聽Damascus聽not to arm聽Israel's Lebanese enemy.

Syrian state television accused聽Israel聽of bombing a military research centre, at Jamraya between the capital and the nearby border, but Syrian rebels disputed that, saying their forces had attacked the site. No source spoke of a second Israeli strike.

"The target was a truck loaded with weapons, heading from Syria聽to聽Lebanon," said one Western diplomat, echoing others who said the convoy's load may have included anti-aircraft missiles or long-range rockets. Several sources ruled out the presence of chemical weapons, about which聽Israel聽has also raised concerns.

Diplomatic sources from three countries told Reuters that chemical weapons were believed to be stored at Jamraya, and that it was possible that the convoy was near the large site when it came under attack. However, there was no suggestion that the vehicles themselves had been carrying chemical weapons.

The overnight raid followed warnings from聽Israel聽that it was ready to act to prevent the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad leading to Syria's chemical weapons and modern rockets reaching either his Hezbollah allies or his Islamist enemies.

A source among Syrian rebels said an air strike around dawn (0430 GMT) blasted a convoy near the border: "It attacked trucks carrying sophisticated weapons from the regime to Hezbollah," the source said, adding that it took place inside Syria.

Syrian state television said two people were killed in a dawn raid on a military site at Jamraya, which lies in the 25-km (15-mile) strip between聽Damascus聽and the Lebanese border. It described it as a scientific research centres "aimed at raising the level of resistance and self-defence".

It did not mention specific retaliation but said "these criminal acts" would not weaken Syria's support for Palestinians and other groups engaged in "resistance" to聽Israel.

Several rebel sources, however, including a commander in the聽Damascus聽area, accused the authorities of lying and said the only attacks at Jamraya had been mortar attacks by insurgents.

A regional security source said聽Israel's target was weaponry given by Assad's military to fellow Iranian ally Hezbollah:

"This episode boils down to a warning by聽Israel聽to Syria聽and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons," the source said. "Assad knows his survival depends on his military capabilities and he would not want those capabilities neutralised by聽Israel聽- so the message is this kind of transfer is simply not worth it, neither for him nor Hezbollah."

With official secrecy shrouding the event, few details were corroborated by multiple sources. All those with knowledge of the events - from several countries - spoke anonymously.

There was no comment from the聽Israeli government聽nor Hezbollah.聽Israel's ally the聽United States聽declined all comment. A Lebanese security source said its territory was not hit, though the聽army聽reported a heavy presence of Israeli jets through the night after days of unusually frequent incursions.

Such a strike or strikes would fit聽Israel's policy of pre-emptive covert and overt action to curb Hezbollah and does not necessarily indicate a major escalation of the war in Syria. It does, however, indicate how the erosion of the Assad family's rule after 42 years is seen by聽Israel聽as posing a threat.

Israel聽this week echoed concerns in the聽United States聽about Syrian chemical weapons, but its officials say a more immediate worry is that the civil war could see weapons that are capable of denting its massive superiority in airpower and tanks reaching Hezbollah; the group fought聽Israel聽in 2006 and remains a more pressing threat than its Syrian and Iranian sponsors.

Israeli officials have said they feared Assad may be losing his grip on some chemical weapons, including around聽Damascus, to rebel groups which are also potentially hostile to聽Israel. U.S. and European security sources told Reuters they were confident that chemical weapons were not in the convoy which was bombed.

Wednesday's action could have been a rapid response to an opportunity. But a stream of Israeli comment on Syria聽in recent days may have been intended to limit surprise in world capitals.

The head of the聽Israeli air force聽said only hours before the attack that his corps, which has an array of the latest jet bombers, attack helicopters and unmanned drones at its disposal, was involved in a covert "campaign between wars".

"This campaign is 24/7, 365 days a year," Major-General Amir Eshel told a conference on Tuesday. "We are taking action to reduce the immediate threats, to create better conditions in which we will be able to win the wars, when they happen."

Jets over Lebanon聽

In聽Israel, where media operate under military censorship, broadcasters immediately relayed international reports of the strike. Channel Two television quoted what it called foreign sources saying the convoy was carrying anti-aircraft missiles.

Israeli jets routinely fly over聽Lebanon聽and there have been unconfirmed reports in previous years of strikes on Hezbollah arms shipments. An attack inside Syria聽could be diplomatically provocative, however, since Assad's Iranian ally said on Saturday that it would view any strike as an attack on itself.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from聽Tehran, which聽Israel聽views as its principal enemy and with which it is engaged in a bitter confrontation over Iran's nuclear program.

On Sunday, Prime Minister聽Benjamin Netanyahu, set for a new term after an election, told his cabinet that Iran and turmoil in Arab states meant聽Israel聽must be strong: "In the east, north and south, everything is in ferment, and we must be prepared, strong and determined in the face of all possible developments."

The聽Israeli military聽confirmed this week that it had lately deployed two batteries of its Iron Dome rocket-interceptor system to around the northern city of聽Haifa, which came under heavy Hezbollah missile fire during a brief war in 2006.

Israel's refusal to comment on Wednesday is usual in such cases; it has, for example, never admitted a 2007 air strike on a suspected Syrian nuclear site despite U.S. confirmation of it.

By not acknowledging that raid,聽Israel聽may have ensured that Assad did not feel obliged to retaliate. For 40 years, Syria聽has offered little but bellicose words against聽Israel. A failing聽Assad administration, some Israelis fear, might be tempted into more action, while Syria's Islamist rebels are also hostile to聽Israel聽and could present a threat if they seize heavier weapons.

Israeli Vice Premier聽Silvan Shalom聽said on Sunday that any sign that the聽Syrian army's grip on its presumed chemical weapons stocks was slipping could trigger Israeli intervention.

But Israeli sources said on Tuesday that Syria's advanced conventional weapons, much of it Russian-built hardware able to destroy Israeli planes and tanks, would represent as much of a threat to聽Israel聽as chemical arms in the hands of an enemy.

Hezbollah fighters and the聽Syrian army聽have close relations and, while聽Damascus聽may have been reluctant to hand over key parts of its own arsenal to its Lebanese allies, some analysts suggest that if Syrian or Hezbollah commanders fear hardware is about to fall into rebel hands they might try to move it across the border - possibly even without formal government approval.

On Wednesday,聽Israel's Shalom would not be drawn on whether Israeli forces had been in action in the north, but described the country as part of an international coalition seeking to stop spillover from Syria's two-year-old insurgency.

Recalling that President聽Barack Obama聽had warned Assad of U.S. action if his forces used chemical weapons, Shalom told聽Israel Radio: "The world, led by President Obama, who has said this more than once, is taking all possibilities into account.

"Any development ... in a negative direction would be something that needs stopping and prevention."

Lebanon war聽

During the 2006 war in聽Lebanon,聽Israel's air forced faced little threat, though its聽navy聽was taken aback when a missile hit a ship. Israeli tanks suffered losses to rockets, and commanders are concerned Hezbollah may get better weaponry.

In what might have been a sign of seeking to reassure major powers, Israeli media reported this week that the country's national security adviser was despatched to聽Russia聽and military intelligence chief to the聽United States聽for consultations.

Shashank Joshi of the聽Royal United Services Institute聽(RUSI) in聽London聽saw any strike on Wednesday as intended to deliver a signal rather than heralding a major escalation from聽Israel.

"The Israelis are sending a message not just to Hezbollah but also to Assad's forces that they have no wish to get dragged in, but chemical weapons and certain types of missiles are a red line for them, and that regime forces ought to signal, in turn, to Hezbollah that they should proceed with caution," he said.

Worries about Syria聽and Hezbollah have sent Israelis lining up for government-issued gas masks in recent days. According to聽the Israel post聽office, which is handling distribution of the kits, demand roughly trebled this week.

"It looks like every kind of discourse on this or that security matter contributes to public vigilance," its deputy director聽Haim Azaki聽told聽Israel's聽Army Radio. "We have really seen a very significant jump in demand."

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in聽Beirut, Myra MacDonald in聽London, Mark Hosenball in Washington, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by David Stamp)