IDF thwarts attack near Syrian border
The IDF thwarted a sniper attack in the Golan Heights on Monday, striking a vehicle near the border.
“IDF forces identified an attempted sniper attack in the northern Golan Heights and acted to thwart it, striking the vehicle involved in the attempt,” the army said.
Syria’s SANA state news agency reported that the vehicle struck was a civilian car in the city of Quneitra, while opposition reports said the car was carrying militiamen loyal to the Assad regime.
The thwarted attack came as thousands of Israelis headed to the polls.
“Even on Election Day, our enemies are trying to hurt us, hurt the citizens of Israel and disrupt the routine of our lives,” said Defense Minister Naftali Bennett. “Even today, like throughout the year, we will stop our enemies and prevent them from disrupting the routine of our lives.”
On Thursday, a man was killed in an alleged Israeli drone strike as he was driving his motorcycle near the village of Hadar in the southern Syrian Quneitra province.
While Syrian regime sources reported that the man was a civilian, according to other unconfirmed reports, the man was identified as Emad al-Tawil, a Hezbollah operative active in establishing and entrenching a covert force in the Syrian Golan Heights that is designed to act against Israel.
Senior intelligence officers in the IDF’s Northern Command said Hezbollah’s Golan Project began last summer following the reconquering of the Syrian Golan by regime troops.
The Golan Project has its headquarters in Damascus and Beirut. There are tens of operatives in the Syrian towns of Hadar, Quneitra and Erneh who collect intelligence on Israel and military movement on the Israeli Golan Heights.
According to the IDF, the Hezbollah terrorists involved in the clandestine project focus on familiarizing themselves with the Syrian Golan Heights and on gathering intelligence on Israel and the border area. They are also working to establish intelligence gathering capabilities against Israel, operating from civilian observation posts and regime military positions near the border.
Operatives involved in the clandestine file have weaponry available from the civil war and, if necessary, will receive additional weaponry from Lebanon or existing arsenals kept by Hezbollah and Iran.
The IDF believes the next war on the northern border will not be limited to one front, but will be along the entire border with both Lebanon and Syria. The military also expects that during the next war, Hezbollah will try to bring the fight to the home front by infiltrating Israeli communities to inflict significant civilian and military casualties.
In July, Mashour Zidan, a resident of the Druze village of Hadar in the Syrian Golan Heights, was killed after an IED planted in his car exploded as he was driving near the southern Syrian town of Sasa.
According to a report in Haaretz, Zidan was responsible for recruiting volunteers from villages near the border with Israel to gather intelligence about IDF movements and hide explosive devices, light weapons, machine guns and antitank missiles in their homes.
Two days before Zidan was assassinated, the Daily Beast published a report in which several Hezbollah commanders said the majority of deployment has taken place on the Lebanese side of the border, and that the group has also bolstered its forces on the Syrian Golan Heights.
Israel has remained mum on the attacks, but the Jewish state has made it clear that it won’t accept Hezbollah’s growing presence in the Syrian Golan Heights.