Israel captures Syrian territory after Assad regime collapse
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Israeli tanks take position on the border with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli military captured territory on the Syrian side of the border in the Golan Heights on Sunday after the Assad regime collapsed, the IDF said in a statement.
Why it matters: This is the first time Israel has captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973.
- Israel notified the U.S. in advance about its operation to take control of the buffer zone on the border with Syria and several other key locations on the Syrian side of the border, an Israeli official told me.
- Israel told the Biden administration this is a temporary move that will last a few days to a few weeks, until the security situation along the border stabilizes, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
Flashback: The 1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria created a buffer zone on the border in the Golan Heights.
- The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has been deployed on both sides of the buffer zone since then.
Driving the news: Israeli and U.S. officials said that rebel groups attacked at least four UNDOF positions on the Syrian side of the buffer zone in recent days.
- The IDF helped the UN Observer Force to repel the attacks.
- In recent days, Israel has conveyed messages to several rebel groups in Syria, including HTS, warning them that if they move close to the border in a way that violates the Israeli-Syrian truce agreement, the IDF will take action, two Israeli officials said.
State of play: The IDF also took control over the strategic Syrian military outpost on Mount Hermon - the highest point on the border between the countries, Israeli officials said.
- Those in Syrian villages and towns along the border were asked by the IDF to stay in their homes until further notice as it conducted dozens of air strikes against Syrian military bases, facilities and weapon depots.
- Israeli officials said the strikes targeted Syrian army air defense systems, artillery batteries and facilities that were connected in the past to Syria's chemical weapons program.
- "We have a responsibility to make sure strategic weapon system doesn't fall into the wrong hands," an Israeli official said.
Israeli officials said the deployment of Israeli forces on the Syrian side of the border is temporary and was done to make sure there is no attempt to attack Israel from the Syrian side.
- The Israeli official said the aim is to stabilize the situation until the intentions of the new key players in Syria become clearer.
- "We are not looking to permanently occupy more parts of Syria," an Israeli official said.
What they are saying: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Israel Katz visited the border on Sunday and were briefed by IDF commanders.
- Netanyahu said the collapse of the Assad regime offers a great opportunity and claimed it was "the direct result" of Israel's action against Hezbollah and Iran.
- "We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria. If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that's our desire", he said.
