Israel Defends UN Forces from Syria Rebels

Israeli troops defended United Nations troops from armed rebel forces late Saturday afternoon near the town of Hader, on the Syrian side of the border in the Golan Heights.

“An attack was carried out by armed individuals at a UN post in the Hader area in Syria. The IDF is currently assisting the UN forces in repelling the attack,” the IDF said in a brief statement early Saturday evening.

“The IDF is deployed with reinforced forces in the Golan Heights area and will continue to operate in order to protect the State of Israel and its citizens.”

Residents on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights were reassured in a text from the Golan Regional Council that the gunfire they were hearing was not an attack on their communities.

“This is from our forces, who are deployed in defense in the Golan region,” the text said.

Syrian jihadist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized control over Quneitra — along the northern Israeli border — as well as the nearby village of Nawa and the Dara’a province on Friday, following their conquest of the northern cities of Aleppo and Hama.

On Saturday night, the rebels were beginning to circle the Syrian capital city of Damascus.