Troops loyal to the Syrian regime along with Hezbollah fighters have allegedly been finalizing plans to launch a large-scale operation against Syrian opposition forces near the border with Israel, according to Iranian media.
“The Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters have been working on a joint plan to end militancy in Southern Syria, particularly near the Golan Heights,” Iran’s Fars news agency quoted unnamed military sources as saying Monday.
The sources added that the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah has already deployed a large contingency of fighters near the Quneitra area, located between Syria and the Israeli Golan Heights.
The Fars report did not provide further details on what such a possible attack would involve or when it would take place.
On Monday, the former head of the Israeli domestic security agency said the Syrian conflict is entering a highly unpredictable phase, adding that the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah posed a growing threat to Israel despite losing many fighters.
As Syria has descended into seemingly intractable fighting over the past five years, Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines, keeping watch over the Golan Heights frontier that divides them and occasionally carrying out airstrikes or returning mortar fire if there is a specific threat.
