Wednesday, January 22, 2025
News

Israel denies forces operating beyond Syrian buffer zone

   SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend    Print this Page   COMMENT

Middle East | December 11, 2024 6:11:59 AM IST
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 11 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that soldiers were operating beyond a buffer zone along the Israel-Syrian border.

"Reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that IDF forces are advancing or approaching Damascus are completely incorrect," tweeted Col. Avichah Adraee, the IDF's Arabic language spokesperson. "IDF forces are present inside the buffer zone and at defensive points close to the border in order to protect the Israeli border."

He was contradicting a Reuters report saying Israeli forces had reached the southern village of Qatana, which is 10 km inside Syria and were within 25 km of Damascus.

As the government of Bashar Assad collapsed on Sunday, Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border. 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 Force has been striking Syrian military facilities, arms depots, airbases and naval sites to prevent heavy weapons, aircraft and other assets from falling into the hands of Islamist rebels. Also hit were facilities used to produce chemical weapons and precision missiles, and sites used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah to smuggle weapons into Lebanon. Reports suggest Israel hit 300 targets in two days.

Israel has also begun efforts to reach out to Syrian minorities, including Druze communities in southern Syria and Syrian Kurds.

The demilitarized zone was established in 1974 after the Yom Kippur War. Sunday's move marked the first time that Israeli forces set up positions there. The army said the deployment is not intended to be permanent. (ANI/TPS)

 
  LATEST COMMENTS (0)
POST YOUR COMMENT
Comments Not Available
 
POST YOUR COMMENT
 
 
TRENDING TOPICS
 
 
CITY NEWS
MORE CITIES
 
 
 
MORE WORLD NEWS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets ...
'We should welcome additional immigrants...
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pays homage...
Trump signs executive order ending diver...
Smriti Irani highlights philanthropy's r...
US: President Trump reaffirms support fo...
More...
 
INDIA WORLD ASIA
MP govt issues order to observe 2-min si...
BJP leaders accuse Kejriwal of being 'ch...
People troubled by AAP rule, have made u...
BJP-led central govt has demolished 12 s...
'Kejriwal hasn't fulfilled a single prom...
RG Kar rape-murder case: Suvendu Adhikar...
More...    
 
 Top Stories
Karnataka: 10 killed, 15 injured in... 
Trump signs executive order ending ... 
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pays h... 
Telangana signs three MoUs with MEI... 
Four killed, 10 injured as vehicle ... 
Sensex, Nifty open marginally highe... 
Tungsten Mining Project: Madurai fa... 
"Common factor in all deaths is inv...