IDF overlooking Golan Borders
The Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis recently reported on the magnitude of Iranian presence near the Golan Heights, and the facts are startling. Since the Assad regime regained control of Southwestern Syria in 2018, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and their Lebanese proxy force, Hezbollah, have embarked on a comprehensive and methodical program of militarization on the Syrian side of the 1974 ceasefire zone that separates Syria from the Israeli Golan. As part of a strategic initiative dubbed "The Golan File," they have demolished hundreds of buildings and constructed bases with barracks and depots in their place. They have stockpiled vast amounts of weapons and ammunition, while the IRGC and Hezbollah have also directly recruited thousands of Syrian fighters for irregular units which are well-paid and well-trained, and which operate within 200 meters of UN observation posts at the line. As previously mentioned, Syrian armored units have also reinforced the Iranian and Lebanese presence in Quneitra, in an effort to quell local unrest about the disruptive and risky operation.
Iran and Hezbollah's activity on the Golani frontier has not gone unnoticed by the Isreali Defense Forces (IDF). In July, a major Hezbollah operative in charge of recruitment in Southwestern Syria - Mashhour Zidan - was killed when a missile struck his car. There was no claim of responsibility for the act, but many analysts agree that the strike was carried out by the Israeli military. Then in August, two Hezbollah operatives attempted to pilot armed drones into the Golan, but the IDF was watching them, and the drones were disabled before they could cross the border.
We are thankful that the IDF are working diligently to protect the citizens of the Golan and Upper Galilee, which include Jews, Druze and Arab Israeli citizens. However, we are concerned about an obvious effort by Iran and its proxies to stage a large-scale incursion force at Israel's doorstep. We know that such a force would be employed in the event of a wider conflict between Iran and Israel. We would ask our global partners to continue in prayer with us, that forces hostile to the covenant people would be restrained, that the Israeli government and military would be granted discernment and wisdom in their response to these developments, and that the global Christian community would awaken to the reality of yet another Antisemitic host on the edge of the Golan.
Photo: Israeli soldiers view the Israeli-Syrian border from Mount Bental overlooking the Golan Heights. (Credit: Debbie Hill, UPI)
Sources:
https://www.wsj.com/…/iran-opens-a-second-front-along-israe…
https://www.haaretz.com/…/.premium-hezbollah-operative-said…