Israel “No longer hiding our operations against Iran in Syria”

Just over the border into Syria, one can see the former city of Quneitra. It has not been a functioning town since the 1973 Yom Kippur war. I have taken many tour groups to Mount Bental, where you can see both Quneitra and New Quneitra, both in the supposed demilitarized zone. However, Israeli intelligence revealed that Iranian troops are seeking a foothold in the ghost town just a few hundred meters from Israeli citizens.

Therefore, Israel shelled an abandoned hospital where Iranian-backed Shiites were seeking to establish a stronghold. The shelling was meant more as a warning of what could come next if they continue. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits an IDF field hospital in the Golan Heights established for the treatment of civilians wounded during the civil war in Syria, Northern Israel. (Photo Kobi Gideon, Israel GPO)

In the past, Israel would neither deny nor confirm the military action in Syria. But in recent weeks Israel has shed its policy of ambiguity. Before heading to Poland for an anti-Iran conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu said,  “We are working all the time to block Iran. We operate every day, including yesterday, against Iran and its efforts to entrench itself in the region.”