Israeli forces on Sunday seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, whose rule by President Bashar Assad ended with takeover by rebels. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday said the agreement had collapsed as Syrian troops had abandoned their positions. Assad fled to Russia and time will tell what the future holds for Syria.
The prime minister, at the Israeli-Syrian border, shared a video on X and wrote: "This is a historic day in the history of the Middle East. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border." The Israeli military carried out the deployment to the buffer zone in coordination with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, which controls the area. UNDOF members remained in their positions. Israel had warned rebel forces in southern Syria not to approach the buffer zone.
The nation launched airstrikes in Syria, hitting weapons factories, including chemical weapons sites near Damascus. This was an effort to prevent them from falling into the hands of rebel groups, according to Syrian media reports. Also, U.S. forces conducted airstrikes in central Syria on Sunday, which targeted "ISIS leaders, operatives and camps" using multiple Air Force assets - including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets and A-10 aircraft - an American official said.
"CENTCOM, together with allies and partners in the region, will continue to carry out operations to degrade ISIS operational capabilities even during this dynamic period in central Syria," the official said in a report by CNN. The IDF's 98th Division with the Paratroopers and Commando brigades was dispatched to the Golan Heights on Sunday morning. The Israeli military's Arabic spokesperson issued an "urgent warning" to residents in southern Syria after Israel sized the buffer zone. In a post on X, Avichay Adraee issued warnings for five areas. Adraee said that "fighting in your area is forcing the IDF to take action, and we do not intend to harm you."