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Inside Israel's Buffer Zone in Syria
(Telegraph-UK) Henry Bodkin - The IDF seized a 150-square-mile "buffer zone" in Syria along Israel's northeastern border in December 2024 after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. According to the Israelis, it is a vital defensive measure to safeguard their communities in the Golan Heights from marauding jihadis and ultimately to prevent another Oct. 7-style massacre. Nine forward operating bases have now been built between Mount Hermon and the Jordanian border. An Israeli military official says Hizbullah elements have been detected in the region. There are also ISIS supporters in the southern section of the border zone. The Israelis are providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian border communities. By and large these are the Druze, a minority Arab sect with strong links to Israel thanks to the 150,000 Druze who live in Israel. A new IDF field clinic near the village of Hader is, in part, designed to give the Druze access to advanced healthcare now that the road to Damascus is so dangerous for them. "I would rather go to Haifa for the birth than take my chances going to Damascus," says Batal Ali, 25, who is in her ninth month of pregnancy. "It isn't safe for us." She is one of 40 patients who will visit the IDF clinic that day. The clinic can carry out essential diagnostic work, such as ultrasound, along with blood tests and X-rays. "Anyone with an immediate threat to life we evacuate [to Israel]," says the chief physician, an IDF colonel.