Israeli paratroopers from the elite reconnaissance unit recently withdrew from Khiam, the northernmost Lebanese village held by the IDF during the past two months, after completing operations there. Their current mission places them in the northern Golan Heights, where they face a new array of challenges near the Syrian frontier.
On Sunday, the soldiers were stationed in an abandoned IDF outpost in the Valley of Tears, overlooking the Syrian border. The position, now a maze of cold, dark tunnels, once housed their predecessors 51 years ago during the Yom Kippur War.
Surrounded by basalt stone walls, they huddled around a small burner to stave off the biting December cold, a stark contrast to their recent missions in southern Lebanon and Gaza.
“It’s much colder here than in Lebanon,” said one soldier as he opened a can of tuna from his combat rations. “At least in Khiam, we slept inside houses.”
These young soldiers, barely 20 years old, have been at the forefront of Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon and now Syria within just three months. They fought Hamas in the Jabalya refugee camp, Hezbollah in Lebanon and are now positioned against a mix of armed Syrian rebel groups that could threaten Israeli communities such as Ein Zivan, Katzrin, Buq’ata and Meitzar.
While some of their comrades hold advanced positions beyond the tall border fence built a decade ago, others operate deeper inside Syrian territory. Initially, the IDF secured the buffer zone between the internationally recognized border and Syrian-controlled territory. Over time, Israeli forces have seized key hilltops and commanding positions inside Syria, prioritizing strategic locations with difficult topography.
Sunday morning, the Air Force’s elite commando unit, Shaldag, captured a significant area in northern Golan, securing critical high ground with commanding views over Quneitra and beyond. The IDF now controls vital observation and defensive positions along the region’s most contested zones.
In the southern Golan, Israeli forces also extended their reach into the rugged Rokad Valley, a deep, jagged ravine marked by red-and-white boundary barrels but lacking a formal border fence.
The soldiers’ presence highlights the shifting dynamics in the Golan Heights, where for the first time in over a century, the area’s geopolitical landscape is being redrawn. The Syrian border, established in 1916 by British and French diplomats, now separates not only a sovereign state but also a nascent new order as rebel factions carve out their territories.
Danger at the tri-border area
Fighters from the Golan Reconnaissance Unit, a newly formed and small force composed of West Bank settler youth and based on a similar unit disbanded last year, have been deployed to one of the most dangerous corners of the region.
This area, near the tri-border zone at Hamat Gader and the striking Yarmouk River, has a troubled history. A decade ago, residents of the Syrian village of Jamla, on the eastern bank, hosted insurgents from Jabhat al-Nusra, the extremist rebel faction in southern Syria. From there, attacks involving roadside bombs and gunfire were launched against IDF forces, until Assad’s troops regained control of the region in 2019.
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In southern Syria, between Daraa and Hauran near the Israeli border, the landscape is now dominated by a mix of rebel groups, far removed from the so-called "moderate" Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led by the newly ascendant Islamist figure Abu Muhammed al-Golani, who captured Damascus on Sunday.
“In the Syrian Golan, we’ve observed armed groups over the weekend that remain unidentified, right along the buffer zone with us,” an IDF official said Sunday night. “These groups operate with varying ideologies and a vast array of weapons circulating in a state armed like a monster. That’s why we recommended, at least temporarily, establishing forward defenses within enemy territory.”
So far, the IDF's efforts to capture these positions have faced little resistance, with Assad’s soldiers abandoning their posts and fleeing the area.
Closed military zone declared in the Golan
Gunfire was absent in the Golan Heights on Sunday as restaurants began reopening, less than two weeks after the cease-fire with Hezbollah. The terrorist group had launched hundreds of rockets and drones at the region.
Occasional distant explosions, however, echoed from Israeli Air Force strikes near Damascus, targeting potential threats to Israel, including surface-to-surface missiles, advanced air defense systems, remnants of chemical weapons and weapons development facilities.
The Quneitra crossing, the closest point of contact between the IDF and Syrian forces, was abandoned by Assad’s troops over the weekend without clashes or mortar fire—common occurrences in the past decade. Primarily used by UNDOF observers, the crossing once saw wedding celebrations between Druze families on both sides of the border and apple shipments from Mas’ade to Syria, now distant memories.
On Sunday, the Northern Command declared a closed military zone, restricting access to agricultural and tourist areas near the border fence. By midnight, the restrictions were lifted in the Marom Golan–Ein Zivan and Buq’ata–Khirbet Ein Hura areas. While soldiers remain deep in forward positions, civilians in the rear are beginning to clear the dust of war and recover.
Signs of lingering tensions remain, with rear defense lines established this year revealing the region’s volatility. Camouflaged tanks and military vehicles were stationed discreetly near a kibbutz exit. The rules of engagement here vary along the border, as Syrian locals continue farming and herding livestock.
Soldiers, many recently deployed from Lebanon, face challenges distinguishing threats, such as identifying armed combatants versus civilians in camouflage, or determining engagement limits for vehicles crossing the Quneitra road toward Marom Golan.
The skies remain active, with fighter jets soaring at high altitudes and drones conducting surveillance below.
Reserve soldiers who had recently returned to civilian life are back in uniform, resuming readiness in local communities. Despite this, the effort to maintain or project a sense of normalcy continues, even as uncertainties about the future loom.
By late afternoon, four IDF D9 bulldozers arrived near the border fence below Majdal Shams, where residents were celebrating Assad’s downfall near the iconic “Shouting Hill.” The bulldozers were poised to cross the border, ascend high Syrian positions and secure the Druze village of Hader.