IDF Fires ‘Warning Shot’ on Syrian Position

IDF forces opened fire on Syrian positions late Shabbos afternoon. The army said it had fired warning shots at a Syrian position that was being built in an area that is supposed to remain empty, according to the ceasefire agreement after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. An IDF tank opened fire on the Syrian position. The extent of the damage to the Syrian position was not clear.

A report last weekend said that Iran was building a permanent military base in southern Syria. The base is being built at a site near the town of El-Kiswah, 14 kilometers (8 miles) south of Damascus and about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Israel-Syria border on the Golan Heights. The report was based on intelligence from “Western security sources,” the report said. In satellite images published by the BBC, several buildings that appear to be storage facilities – for vehicles or weapons – are seen along a staging ground, with other buildings, one of them appearing to be a headquarters, adjacent. According to the images, construction is at an advanced stage.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah raised its security caution to the highest level possible, over concern that it could be attacked. A report in the Lebanese daily A-Re’i said that the terror group was concerned that an attack could come from any number of sources, with Israel a prime possibility. The report said that Hezbollah has temporarily halted shipment of weapons from Iran to south Lebanon via Syria. The report added that Hezbollah is no longer storing its weapons in south Lebanon, but in Syria, as the borders between southern Syria and Lebanon are now porous.