Israel has captured the buffer zone with Syria after rebel forces infiltrated and tried to capture a UN peacekeeping post as fears for border security remain high for the Jewish state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had ordered the Israeli military to "seize" the demilitarized zone that lies between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, saying the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “has collapsed”.
”We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” the Israeli prime minister said after referring to the ousting of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad as a “historic day”.
The Israeli military announced the deployment of troops on Sunday morning, adding that the Israeli military is “not interfering with the internal events in Syria”, while the area is a key point to keep the country secure.
The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has been in place for over 50 years to monitor the 80km (50-mile) long strip of land 24 hours a day.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks last year, the issue of cross-border incursions has become an ever-looming threat to Israel, which is on a state of high alert. Several areas around along the border were declared closed military zones on Sunday.
In a clear message to Syria, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sar released a statement Saturday night saying: “Over the past 24 hours, armed forces have entered the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border with Israel. Among other actions, attacks were carried out against UNDOF forces in the area.
“Israel is concerned about violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria, which also pose a threat to its security, the safety of its communities, and its citizens, particularly in the Golan Heights region. The State of Israel does not intervene in the internal conflict in Syria.”
According to Israel’s Mako, however, the Israeli military has resumed Operation Good Neighbor, a project set up in 2016 which saw both civilians and rebel militia such as Al Nusra Front treated in Israel’s field hospital near the border in a bid to maintain peace. Since then there have been more than 110 such operations carried out.
“The IDF provided aid to Syrians on the other side of the border for two primary reasons. Firstly, we have a moral imperative. We can’t stand by watching a severe humanitarian crisis without helping the innocent people stuck in the middle of the conflict. We also believe that the aid will ultimately create a less hostile environment across the border and that will lead to improved Israeli security,” a statement said.
Around 200,000 residents of the Hauran region of southwestern Syria were part of the program, including roughly 400 families living in tents near the Israel-Syria border. Others lived in villages or out in the open. Half of those receiving aid were children.
Over 4,000 people have so far been brought to Israel to receive treatment, including hundreds of children with further transfers of medicine, supplies, and equipment being sent across the border.
In addition to medical aid, the project has seen over 450,000 liters of fuel transferred for heating, operating water wells, and ovens in bakeries. A further seven generators, water pipes to rebuild Syrian infrastructure, and equipment for a temporary school in the region were transferred.
The Israeli military said it had also transferred 40 tons of flour to bakeries, 225 tons of food, 12,000 packages of baby formula, 1,800 packages of diapers, 12 tons of shoes, and 55 tons of cold weather clothing.
Six successive prime ministers in Israel have tried to broker a peace deal with Syria but as yet, it has remained elusive, Israel’s archenemy Iran deeply entrenched with the ruling Assad government.