Special Israeli forces have carried out three operations deep inside Syrian territory since early January, according to an "Israeli security source" who spoke to Saudi news channel Al Hadath.
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The Arabic-language report has not been corroborated by other sources.
The source said, "The operations deep inside Syria have not stopped, and special forces are carrying out sensitive missions inside Syrian territory."
The forces received aerial and intelligence assistance and acted to thwart a security threat posed by either Iranian forces or militias loyal to them, according to the Al Hadath report. The operations sent two figures involved in Iranian weapons smuggling into hiding.
Israel is determined to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its borders, the source said, noting such efforts had grown more complicated for the Quds Forces of late.
Meanwhile, sources told Al Hadath Israeli forces were on increased alert on the country's Syrian and Lebanese borders out of concern hostile actors would take advantage of poor weather conditions to potentially carry out a terrorist attack or engage in mortar fire.
On Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi insinuated the Israeli military carried out a military operation in a neighboring country.
Speaking at a meeting with Israeli youths, the IDF head tried not to reveal too much information, as he made the remarks in a meeting with Israeli youths, he did say Israel handled the target "militarily." He said IDF fighters had successfully completed the operation, which he said prevented "harm to civilian lives."
"When we order an invasion nearby around one month ago – I won't go into details – I didn't leave it to the battalion commander, certainly not to the company commander, or in this case, the division commander, Kochavi explained.
"We conducted a situation assessment, we examined the target, we thought it should get a specific kind of treatment – military – I apologize for the somewhat sterile wording – and we decided this mission is principled," he said. "We sent soldiers who crossed the border. They carried out the mission very well, but they also could have returned wounded."
He said, "I would have looked them in the eyes and told them: 'Even if you came back wounded, we sent you on a very principled mission that prevented harm to civilian lives."
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