Israel deploys troops to demilitarized zone with Syria

Israel's military entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday, as part of efforts to prevent potential threats linked to the insurgency challenging Syrian leader Bashar Assad, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” Netanyahu said, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian armed opposition group under the command of Abu Mohammad Jolani — who has family roots in the Golan Heights — overran Damascus early Sunday as Assad fled to Russia.

HTS emerged from a former al-Qaida affiliate, and while Jolani has distanced himself from the terrorist group and projects modernity, Israel remains on high alert for threats to its security emerging from the chaos in Syria.

On Saturday, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, said on a visit to the Syrian border that the IDF was “monitoring to ensure that local elements aren’t moving in our direction,” and that it had prepared a “very strong offensive and defensive response” in case of need.

Israeli media later reported that the IDF had launched airstrikes overnight on a chemical weapons depot near Damascus to prevent it from falling into the hands of rebel groups, as well as on air defense batteries and missile factories. Those reports were not officially confirmed, however.

Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command posted on X Sunday that its forces had conducted “dozens of precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.” ISIS is another term for the Islamic State group.

News.Az