IDF sends reinforcements to Syrian border amid escalation in violence
Israel insists it will not enter the conflict north of the border as it shores up defences in the Golan Heights
The Israel Defence Forces has sent armoured and artillery reinforcements to its northern border with Syria as the war between the country’s army and rebels continues to escalate.
The forces were deployed on Sunday morning due to “developments” in the Syrian Golan Heights near the border with Israel, the IDF said in a statement.
The IDF said that it will “continue its non-intervention policy in the Syrian conflict, while reacting firmly to cases in which Israeli sovereignty or civilians are threatened. Humanitarian assistance has been provided by Israel for many years and continues today, in light of the existing need,” the statement also said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the Syria situation at the start of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.
“Regarding southern Syria, we will continue to defend our borders. We will extend humanitarian assistance to the extent of our abilities. We will not allow entry into our territory and we will demand that the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement with the Syrian army be strictly upheld,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister added: “I am in continual contact with the White House and the Kremlin on this matter. The Defence Minister and the Chief-of-Staff are in similar contact with their counterparts in both the U.S. and Russia.”
Thousands of displaced Syrians live in tent camps near the border with Israel, with tens of thousands more pouring in in recent days following fighting in Syria’s seven-year civil war in which approximately 500,000 people have died. Since the Syrian army began focusing last month on the rebel-held Daraa region in southern Syria, some 160,000 Syrian nationals have fled their homes and travelled to the borders of Israel and Jordan, where they feel they will be more protected.
In recent days Israel has transferred hundreds of tons of food, equipment and medicine to the displaced Syrians.
Over the weekend, six Syrians, including four children, who were seriously injured, were brought into Israel in what the IDF called a “unique and complex medical operation,” and given medical treatment. According to Syrian reports, the children’s families were killed by the bombings in Syria. The injured Syrian civilians were transferred to a hospital in Israel after receiving life-saving first aid by IDF soldiers, the IDF said.
Since 2013, over 3,500 civilians who were injured in Syria have received medical treatment in Israel. In addition, since 2016, as part of Operation “Good Neighbour,” over 1,300 Syrian children suffering from various illnesses and ailments have received one-day treatment in Israel’s field clinics. The ‘Mazor Ladach’ field clinic, established by the IDF and international aid organisations in the southern Golan Heights, has provided medical treatment to approximately 6,000 civilians suffering from various conditions since its opening in August 2017.
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