Israeli Military Denies Troops Moving Forward Towards Damascus

Israeli spokesman Defense Forces (IDF) denied reports claiming Israeli forces were moving forward towards Damascus, the Syrian capital, saying they were only operating within the buffer zone on the border between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.

"Reports circulating in several media claiming that IDF forces moving forward or approaching Damascus are not true at all," said Colonel Avichay Adraee, an Arabic-speaking IDF spokesman at X.

"The IDF forces are in the buffer zone and are in a defense position near the border to protect the Israeli border," he added.

Earlier, Reuters quoted Syrian security sources as reporting on Tuesday that Israeli military attacks on Syria had reached about 25 km (16 miles) in the southwest of Damascus after Israel seized a buffer zone in southern Syria and launched airstrikes against Syrian air bases and soldiers at night.

Syrian security sources said Israeli forces reached Qatata, which is 10 km (six miles) away to Syrian territory to the east of the demilitarized zone separating Israel's occupied Golan Heights from Syria.

Israel told the United Nations Security Council it had taken "finite and temporary measures" in the demilitarized zone bordering Syria to counter any threats, particularly against residents on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.

"However, it is important to emphasize that Israel does not intervene in the ongoing conflict between the Syrian armed groups; our actions are solely focused on maintaining our security," Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon wrote in a letter to the 15-member council.

He added that Israel remains committed to the 1974 troop separation agreement framework, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pact had been "collapsed."