Israeli Defense chief arrives in Washington for urgent talks on Syria

• Israel is concerned that the Assad regime's takeover of Southern Syria will allow Iranian and Hezbollah forces to entrench themselves near the Israeli border in the Golan Heights. Israel is also concerned that the Syrian army operation will lead to a flood of refugees along its border.

What we're hearing: Israeli officials told me that Israel will not allow any Syrian refugees to enter its territory, but the country will give as much humanitarian aid as it can.

The backdrop: Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, Israel has provided humanitarian aid and assistance to the Syrian civilian population along its border. Most of the people in those areas are affiliated with different rebel groups, which kept the border calm and prevented terror attacks against Israel.

What's next: It is still unclear if and how Israel is going to assist those groups when the Assad army attacks them. One of the options Israel is exploring is asking the Russians to use their regional forces to prevent the Assad army from retaliating against the civilian population.