Israel on verge of sending troops into Syria over increased threat of terrorist attack
The Israeli Defence Force is reportedly carrying out manoeuvres to test their capability to launch an attack in the Golan Heights
Caroline Mortimer
Monday 17 August 2015 12:12
Israeli soldiers patrolling in the Golan Heights
(Jalaa Marey/Getty Images)
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is believed to be preparing for a possible ground operation in Syria.
Local news channel, Channel 2, reported a large scale drill by military forces along the border on Sunday which simulated a possible incursion into Syrian territory and the evacuation of Israeli citizens from nearby border towns.
According to another channel, Channel 10, the drill also prepared for a sophisticated attack by Isis on Israeli troops.
It comes after a senior officer said recent attempts by Hezbollah to carry out terror attacks against Israel from the Golan Heights were orchestrated by Iran.
What is Hezbollah's game in Syria? The view from Jerusalem and Beirut
Syria civil war: The Israeli hospitals treating wounded soldiers from the violence across the border
Israel accused of launching air strikes near Damascus in act of 'aggression against Syria'
According to Haaretz, the Israeli Air Force carried out a bomb attack on suspected militants after an attempt to plant an IED along the border fence between Israel and Syria back in April was foiled.
An official told reporters during a briefing on Sunday: "It's clear that Iran is behind all of the terror attacks here (in the Golan) in the past two years.
He said. "The Iranians are using the border – they establish units – whether it's [Imad] Mughniyeh, [Samir] Kuntar, and more – to carry out the attacks."
The military released a video of the attack on Sunday.
There have been several Israeli air strikes against Syrian territory since the civil war began in 2011.
In January, an airstrike on a convoy in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights was believed to have killed a top Hezbollah commander, the Times of Israel reports.
The Shi'a Islamist militant group retaliated with an attack which killed two IDF soldiers.
In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014)
1/20In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014)
Syrian citizens check a damaged house that targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib
A Syrian boy (L) looking at a destroyed car that activists say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib
Parts of a missile that activists say was fired by coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib
Tthe guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launching Tomahawk cruise missiles against Isis targets
The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches a Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Red Sea, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets in Syria
The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launching a Tomahawk cruise missile against Isis targets in Syria, as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf
US navy sailors standing watch on the bridge while Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched against Isis targets in Syria, aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), in the Arabian Gulf
An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets
AFP/Robert Burck
The US-led airstrikes in Syria against Isis targets in and around the city of Raqqa
A fighter from the Isis group holds a piece of what the IS is saying is a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa
Fighters from the Isis organisation pray at the spot where the jihadist group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa
Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa
Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa
Fighters from the Isis group gesture as they load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa. A US-led coalition on carried out its first air strikes and missile attacks against jihadist positions in Syria, with Damascus saying it had been informed by Washington before the operation began
A Syrian man rides his bike past a communications tower that was destroyed after a US drone crashed into it, according to fighters with the Isis group, in the Syrian city of Raqqa
People inspect a shop damaged after what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone crashed into a communication station nearby in Raqqa
A man holds the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa
Resident gather in the back of a van the remains of what Isis militants say was a drone which crashed in Raqqa
A man inspects the remains of what Isismilitants say was a U.S. drone which crashed into a communication tower in Raqqa
A man inspects the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa
1/1Iraseli army drills carried out for potential invasion of Syria
Iraseli army drills carried out for potential invasion of Syria