Dozens of people walked on Tuesday from Syrian refugee encampments on the Golan Heights to Israel's nearby frontier fence, where they stopped some 200 yards away and were ordered by IDF soldiers to turn back.
The Syrians waved white pieces of cloth, indicating that their intention was not hostile.
"You are on the border of the State of Israel. Go back, we don't want to hurt you," one officer called out in Arabic through a loudspeaker at the crowd, Reuters TV showed.
"Go back before something bad happens. If you want us to be able to help you, go back," he said.
The Syrian army is pressing a Russian-backed offensive against rebels in the area.
The incident Tuesday came on the heels of a report on Walla News that despite reports that Russia was taking steps to move Iranian forces in Syria away from the Israeli border, Israel defense officials have confirmed that Russian forces collaborated with the Syrian military, Hezbollah, and pro-Iranian militias as part of the recent Syrian offensive in Daraa.
Israel has been adamant in its stance that entrenched Iranian forces on the Syrian Golan Heights present an existential threat to its security. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used meetings with world leaders such as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to underscore that Israel will not tolerate an Iranian foothold on its northern border.
The report quoted the Syrian American Council, a group that lobbies on behalf of the Syrian opposition, which reported that Iraqi Shiite militia forces, working under the auspices of Iran, had been seen in the town of Dael, located some 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Israeli border.
Israeli officials said that the Russians provided air cover for ground forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar Assad that were carrying out operations in that area.
The officials also said that Russian military officials met face-to-face with representatives of the pro-Iranian Shiite militias in the area.
Prior to the Daraa offensive, reports said that Israel was insisting that the pro-Iranian militias, Hezbollah, and operatives from Iran's Revolutionary Guard maintain a distance of at least 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border.
