Compared with the destruction in Gaza and the heavy price Israel is paying there, the IDF's operations in Syria — once unthinkable — have so far been considered a success. But that stability may soon be shaken.
Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth have learned that Israeli forces recently demolished seven homes in the abandoned town of Old Quneitra, on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights border. The move sparked anger from the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, which demanded financial compensation.
IDF forces in Syria
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The incident occurred several weeks ago, just a few kilometers from the border fence. Reserve units from the IDF Northern Command, deployed in Israel’s new “security belt” in Syria, razed seven dilapidated stone structures in order to clear access routes and prevent the possibility of explosives being planted against Israeli soldiers.
The operation took place in deserted sections of the town, which was abandoned in the 1970s following Israel’s victories in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War. However, Syrians from nearby New Quneitra and surrounding villages noticed the demolition and protested, claiming the houses — some dating back to the 18th century and built of basalt stone — remain private property of Syrian families.
Syria demands compensation
The complaints reached Damascus, where Syrian authorities demanded tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for each structure destroyed. In Jerusalem, senior defense and political officials debated the matter. For now, Israel has decided not to pay compensation, hoping that direct dialogue will calm tensions and the matter will fade.
Still, IDF officials privately admitted that the issue should have been handled differently, noting that Syria is not Gaza, and alternative ways could have been found to secure Israeli outposts in the area without damaging Syrian-owned buildings.
“Various terrorist groups, including Hezbollah operatives, used these structures in the years before Bashar Assad’s fall for surveillance, weapons storage, and explosives, so they posed a danger,” the IDF said.
The buildings lie between the Quneitra crossing — unmanned by Syrian troops for the past 10 months and now fully controlled by Israel — and Syrian villages where IDF forces operate. Some of the houses sit inside tree groves, raising concern that terrorists could infiltrate under cover of night.
Daily coexistence with Syrian villagers
Since the Assad regime’s collapse late last year, the IDF has deployed in nine outposts from Mount Hermon down to Hamat Gader. Around 70,000 Syrians live in surrounding villages, and Israeli forces have generally sought to avoid harming them. Soldiers focus mainly on self-defense and confiscating weapons looted from abandoned Syrian army bases or purchased during the civil war.
Day-to-day relations are mostly calm. Israeli troops avoid moving tanks and armored vehicles into village streets and maintain regular contact with local sheikhs and leaders. In some cases, the IDF has even provided humanitarian assistance.
Expanding IDF reach inside Syria
In recent months, the IDF has expanded its weapons-collection operations, including a special mission disclosed last weekend. Hundreds of reservists advanced as far as 38 kilometers into Syria, close to the Lebanese border and nearer to Damascus than ever before. They seized hundreds of weapons abandoned by Assad’s forces, preventing them from reaching terror groups or Hezbollah.
These activities are unfolding as Israel and Syria discuss a possible new security arrangement. They also come against the backdrop of recent arrests of Iranian-backed terror cells preparing revenge attacks against Israeli targets along the border.
Terrorist breach on Mount Hermon
The house demolitions were not the only incident to raise concerns. In another embarrassing episode, disclosed here for the first time, an armed terrorist linked to ISIS infiltrated an IDF outpost at Mount Hermon, on the Syrian side of the border.
The incident happened about two weeks ago. The terrorist sabotaged an engineering vehicle parked near the gate before escaping undetected. He was later caught by young Druze men from a nearby Syrian village, who allegedly beat him before handing him over to Israeli forces. The Shin Bet security service is now interrogating him.
According to an initial investigation, the assailant had observed the reserve-manned outpost for a week before seizing an opportunity to strike. The breach occurred at 2,800 meters above sea level, in an area where the IDF continues to consolidate control and disrupt smuggling routes from Syria into Lebanon.
The army confirmed the incident: “Two weeks ago, a suspected terrorist damaged an engineering vehicle near an IDF outpost in southern Syria. He was caught by residents of a nearby village and transferred to the IDF, then detained and interrogated. Lessons were learned and applied across new outposts, where significant infrastructure and defensive measures are now being built.”
Regarding the demolitions in Quneitra, the IDF confirmed the events but declined further comment.