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Tel Aviv [Israel], December 9 (ANI/TPS): After taking control of the buffer zone along the Israeli-Syrian border, the Israel Defense Forces released photos from the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, a strategic peak in the Golan Heights on Monday morning.
Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border as the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed on Sunday. The move into the demilitarized zone was coordinated with peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, which has been monitoring an Israeli-Syrian ceasefire since 1974. The Israeli Air Forces also struck military airfields, weapons depots and munitions factories across southern Syria and around Damascus to prevent them from falling into rebel hands. Targets included the Mezzeh and Khalkhalah military airports in the Damascus area, which were used by the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corops and Hezbollah. The strikes also reportedly destroyed a facilities producing chemical weapons and precision missiles. While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone, the move marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The 1974 ceasefire ended the Yom Kippur War. The army said on Sunday that the deployment was not intended to be permanent. (ANI/TPS)
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