Israeli army: Syrian army infrastructure attacked
Israel's Army, according to its own statements, attacked military infrastructure of the Syrian Army. This infrastructure reportedly crossed the buffer zone between the two countries and thus violated the disengagement agreement between the two states, justifying the Israeli Military's shelling with tanks and artillery. The Army did not specify what exactly it targeted. According to Israeli media, four Syrian Army observation posts were meant.
A demilitarized zone along the border line to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. A UN troop on the plateau monitors the ceasefire between the two neighboring countries. The UN peacekeepers of the Undof Mission also control the approximately 235 square kilometer buffer zone.
Israel and Syria have been in dispute over the Golan Heights for more than five decades. Israel had captured the roughly 1150 square kilometer plateau during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed it at the end of 1981. The UN declared the Israeli annexation invalid at the time. The area is militarily strategic and significant due to access to water sources.
The Syrian Army is responsible for all activities on Syrian territory, warned Israel's Army. The Military will "not allow any advances that would violate Israeli sovereignty".
The Golan Heights, a subject of dispute between Israel and Syria for over five decades, is a militarily strategic area that Israel's Army is protective of due to its access to water sources. The Israeli Army's warning to the Syrian Army highlights their opposition to any activities on Syrian territory that might cross the buffer zone and potentially impact Israel's infrastructure, such as the Golan Heights, which could justify further military action.
