Syrian military forces recaptured a rebel held position overlooking Israel Sunday night, according to Syrian state media.
The hilltop, which was once the site of an important Syrian anti-aircraft radar base, was captured by rebel forces in 2014.
Syrian state military retook the rebel held town of al-Hara and it’s hill, which is the highest point in the Daara province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A picture taken on June 29, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan Heights shows the fence border between Israel Syria near the Syrian village of Burayqah in the southern province of Quneitra. – A barrage of Russian strikes on rebel-held towns in southern Syria killed at least 25 civilians the previous day, the bloodiest day yet of the government’s latest offensive in the strategic region. With Russia’s help, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army has battered the south for more than a week with air strikes, rocket fire and crude barrel bombs. (Photo bu JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images)
The al-Hara hill is near the Israeli border and overlooks Golan Heights, an important strategic position for Israel.
The area of al-Hara and the greater Daara province have been the subject of a recent Syrian offensive to recapture more territory near its southwest border. The hill has been bombed heavily by Russian and Syrian army raids in the past couple days, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The broader offensive includes both the Daara province and the Quneitra province, part of an area known as “the Triangle of Death.”
The Syrian forces are now in negotiation to add nearby towns to its forces, as it has done throughout its seemingly successful military campaign in the Daara province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The offensive takes place just miles away from the Disengagement Observer Force zone, a demilitarized zone established by the United Nations in 1974.
Israel is wary of Assad allies Hezbollah and Iran, who are heavily entrenched in the area, and their likelihood to move closer to its border, according to Reuters.
Israel’s defense minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that any Syrian soldier in the buffer zone risks his life.
Israel contends it will not impede Syrian advancement as long as they steer clear of the disengagement zone, but Israel recently bombed a Syrian military position in Aleppo.
Israel targeted an Iranian Revolutionary Guard center near Neirab Airbase outside the city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory also reports at least nine were killed in the missile strike.
While Syrian state media blames Israel for the strike, Israel provided no comment on the subject.