Israeli Defensive Forces inside Syria "is something that will go down in the history books," says IDF spokesperson Maj. Doron Spielman.
"These certainly are almost biblical events that we're looking at here. The last time that Israelis were inside of Syria was after 1973, with the Yom Kippur War," Spielman told Newsmax's "Newsline."
"Since that time, an Israeli officer, at least officially, has not been inside Syria. The fact that the IDF is there right now, protecting Israel, is something that will go down in the history books. Our soldiers of the 601 Battalion, in fact, have moved through the Hermon mountains. We have to understand — the border between Israel and Syria is there are two mountains there, almost like the back of a camel. One of the Hermon mountains is in Israel. The taller one is in Syria. So, Syria had actually an advantage over Israel. Now our troops are over that second hump. They've gone down into the valley in Syria, and we are now in sight distance to Damascus," he added.
Israel's forces are in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime and will remain there until a "new force" was established that met its security demands.
"Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters.
Spielman said Israel isn't "going to take any chances" with all the "craziness that's going on in Syria right now.
"What we found on the ground are abandoned outposts. We found three abandoned tanks. We found outdated machinery. They left, they ran away. We found their maps. They were tracking Israeli movements, but it almost looks at, you know, these stories of the Japanese after World War II, where they were left on some deserted island with no support. I mean, these guys were getting paid by the regime. That's why they were fighting Israel. As soon as there was just a tremor, they ran away. They were using outdated equipment. And that's what we're finding on the ground. Just an outdated army," he added.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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