Israel plans to expand ground operations as the Israeli army started removing landmines and erect new barriers on the border between the occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip on the border with Syria
Israeli forces are carrying out new operations in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and in the buffer zone.
Israeli forces are removing landmines and setting up new barriers on the border between the occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip on the border with Syria, military officials from Lebanon and Syria said.
Israel may be seeking for the first time to target Hezbollah from further east on the Lebanese border, while creating a safe zone that would enable it to freely conduct reconnaissance and surveillance operations.
Some sources revealed that Israel is moving the fence separating the demilitarized zone towards the Syrian side, and is carrying out excavation work to build more fortifications in the area.
By expanding its front in the east, Israel can tighten its grip on Hezbollah’s weapons supply routes, some of which pass through Syria and Iran, which supports it.
The operations in the Golan appear to be an attempt to prepare for a broader attack in Lebanon.
Syrian and Lebanese security sources said that Israeli mine clearance and other engineering work had accelerated in recent weeks.
For the past five decades, the demilitarized zone has been the site of a United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) that monitored the disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces after the 1973 war.
An official with the international peacekeeping forces in New York said that the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force has recently observed some construction activities by the Israeli military forces in the vicinity of the separation area, without providing further details.
When asked about the mine clearance, the Israeli military said it “doesn’t comment on operational plans” and that it was currently fighting Hezbollah to allow the residents of the north to return to their homes safely.
Syrian and Lebanese sources reported that Russian forces had meanwhile left the Tal al Hara site, which is the highest point in the southern Syrian province of Dara’a and a strategic observation point.
A Syrian military officer said the Russians left because of understandings with the Israelis to prevent a clash.
A Syrian army officer said that army commanders ordered Syrian paramilitary groups on Tuesday morning to withdraw from the southern Quneitra area in the Golan within 24 hours.
Two sources from the Iraqi armed factions said that orders were issued to the factions’ fighters to withdraw from areas in the southern Quneitra countryside, after Israeli tanks were spotted in the area.
