Are Israeli soldiers really approaching the gates of Damascus?

Israeli ground forces have not left the buffer zone on the Israel-Syria border, a Israel Defence Forces spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday, denying claims that the IDF had progressed further inside the country's territory.

“It’s not true. The forces have not left the buffer zone,” the spokesperson stated.

Local and regional "security sources" told the press agency earlier on Tuesday that Israeli forces operating to thwart terrorist threats in Syria progressed some 10 km (6 miles) from Israel's northern border.

Two regional sources told the press agency that the IDF soldiers, who crossed the border following the ouster of President Bashar Assad on Sunday, were approximately 25 km (16 miles) from Damascus.

A Syrian source claimed the troops reached the town of Qatana, which is located some 20 km (12 miles) from the outskirts of Damascus.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lebanon's Al Mayadeen, which is closely affiliated with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group, reported that IDF tanks reached positions some 3 km (1.8 miles) from the Qatana area.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday morning that he ordered the military to set up a secure area free of strategic weapons and terror infrastructure inside Syrian territory, beyond the buffer zone on the Israel-Syria border.

The 210th “Bashan” Division began proactive operations on Sunday to ensure “the protection of the residents of the Golan Heights in light of the internal events in Syria,” the IDF said.

Katz said he had also instructed the military to establish full control over the once-demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan, which was established under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Jerusalem reportedly informed the United States that its activities in Syria constitute “temporary and tactical operations” to protect civilians in its north. A US government source signalled Washington’s approval for the move in a conversation with Israel’s Kan News, saying that “no nation can tolerate terror groups on its doorstep.

“Since the Syrian army abandoned its positions in and around the Israeli-Syrian buffer zone, Israel has declared that Syria’s enforcement of the 1974 ceasefire agreement has collapsed. Israel has taken temporary measures to stabilize the buffer zone and prevent an invasion of Israeli territory,” the American source told the Israeli public broadcaster.

Two sources familiar with the details of the conversations told Kan News that Jerusalem had informed the Biden administration of its intention to take control of the Syrian part of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone. Washington has not expressed public opposition to the moves.