Cleared for publication: Israeli forces operated inside Syrian territory in the summer of 2020, Israel Hayom learned Sunday. Many details about the operations remain classified, under orders from Israel's Military Censor.
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According to available details, in July 2020, troops with the IDF's elite infantry Golani Brigade crossed into Syrian territory under cover of night. This was the first operation to see Israeli incursion into Syria in years.
The mission targeted a Syrian army position that according to Military Intelligence was built in March 2020 in the buffer zone that stretches across the Israeli-Syrian border. The post was erected some 1,200 meters (just under a mile) from the Israeli border, and by creating a fixed military presence in the buffer zone, Syria was in violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement with Israel, signed following the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The agreement calls for the buffer zone to remain free of military outposts at all times.
Israel viewed Syria's move not only as a provocation but also a serious threat to the safety of Israeli forces deployed near the border.
According to available information, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, greenlighted the operation.
A team of 18 soldiers was deployed for the mission, including Golani soldiers and a combat demolition team. An additional IDF contingent remained on the Israeli side of the border, ready to step into the fray if necessary. The Air Force was also on standby to provide air cover should the troops need it.
Upon reaching their targets, IDF demolition experts mined the base of the Syrian post, with the entire force of 18 soldiers remaining in Syrian territory until after the outpost was destroyed.
Lt. Col. Liron Appleman, who was involved in the mission as well as is several similar operations that followed, told Israel Hayom that "it was very important to us [the IDF] to send a clear message to the other side that things perceived as a violation of our sovereignty won't be tolerated."
The message, he said, was received. "This type of deterrence is working – none of the positions we destroyed has been rebuilt," he said.
"The enemy is looking and trying to push the line, and we need to constantly be clear in our operations. We carried out a successful surgical strike and achieved an operational feat without degenerating the whole area into war."
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