IDF soldiers on Sunday opened fire on unidentified gunmen who were crossing the Alpha line near the security fence on the Golan Heights. There were no casualties.
The force identified a number of armed men from the Syrian side of the fence, where Syrian civilians are not allowed to be found. The soldiers fired, and now the appointed echelons are trying to understand whether the persons who came close to Israeli territory did it for the purpose of gathering intelligence or for some other purpose.
The buffer zone between Israel and Syria is about 50 miles long, and between 0.3 and 6 miles wide. The zone straddles the Purple Line, separating the Israeli portion of the Golan Heights and Syria, where the western line is known as “Alpha,” and the eastern line as “Bravo.” The zone also borders the Lebanon Blue Line to the north and forms a border of less than 0.6 miles with Jordan to the south.
Operationally, the Alpha Line was drawn in the west, not to be crossed by Israeli Forces, and the Bravo Line in the east, not to be crossed by Syrian Forces.
Between these lines lies the Area of Separation (AOS) buffer zone, and extending 15.5 miles to either side is the Area of Limitation (AOL) where United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), and Observer Group Golan (OGG) observers under its command, supervise the number of Syrian and Israeli troops and weapons.
There is no official border crossing between Israel and Syria, but one crossing point exists for the UN, near Quneitra, called “The A-Gate.”
The terrain is hilly. The highest point in the zone is at Mount Hermon (9,232 ft) on the Lebanese border. The lowest point is at the Yarmuk River at 656 ft. below sea-level.