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Israel denied on Tuesday that its forces had penetrated into Syrian territory beyond the buffer zone with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after Syrian sources said the incursion had extended to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the capital Damascus.
Since Bashar al-Assad’s flight on Sunday ended over five decades of his family’s rule, Israeli troops moved into a demilitarized zone inside Syria established following a 1973 war. Israel calls the incursion a temporary measure to ensure border security.
Three security sources said on Tuesday the Israelis had advanced beyond the demilitarized zone. One Syrian source said they had reached the town of Qatana, several kilometers (miles) to the east of the zone and just a short drive from Damascus airport.
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But an Israeli military spokesperson said troops had not left the demilitarized zone.
“The reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks toward Damascus are false. IDF troops are stationed within the buffer zone, as stated in the past,” an official from the Israeli military said.
Officials say Israel, which has just agreed a ceasefire in Lebanon following weeks of fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement there, does not seek conflict with the new entity in control of Damascus.
But Israeli jets have struck targets across Syria since the weekend in an apparent bid to ensure Syrian military equipment, including combat aircraft, missiles and chemical weapons, does not fall into the opposition’s hands.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would use all the tools it had to ensure its security following al-Assad’s fall.
with Reuters
Read more:
Israel hits Syrian air bases, destroying dozens of helicopters, planes: Syrian security
Israel incursion into Syria must be ‘temporary:’ US
Israel has ‘destroyed the most important military sites in Syria’: Reports
