DAMASCUS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The sounds of explosions and air defenses are being heard in the capital Damascus before daybreak Thursday, according to Xinhua reporters and local media.

The Syrian official news agency SANA said the air defenses are responding to an Israel missile strike.

The sounds can be clearly heard across the capital and a Xinhua reporter saw the air defenses being fired from the capital. The air defenses are hitting Israeli missiles one by one, the state TV said.

Strong sounds of explosions were heard in the Mazzeh neighborhood west of Damascus.

Israeli-Syrian tension escalated overnight Wednesday when Israel fired rockets on Syrian military sites in the southern province of Qunaitera. Afterward, rockets slammed Israeli military sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, believed to be a Syrian response.