Israeli soldiers have seized more than 3,300 items of military equipment from Syria, including weapons and electronic equipment, the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday.
Of that number, 3,300 weapons were confiscated in Syrian territory. This includes 1,500 anti-tank rockets, launchers and RPGs, two tanks, 20 anti-aircraft missiles, 70 explosive weapons, 165 shells and rockets, and 570 phones, laptops, devices and documents.
Israeli forces have already destroyed weapons found in the demilitarized zone, that were found there despite the UN observer force.
Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed in December. It also launched waves of airstrikes on Syrian army assets and Iranian stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical Islamists.
The move into the demilitarized zone was coordinated with peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Israeli officials say they will remain in the demilitarized zone for as long as necessary.
While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone in the past, December’s takeover marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The demilitarized zone was established with a ceasefire in 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur War.
Israel considers the 1974 ceasefire agreement void until order is restored in Syria.
This brings to more than 170,000 items confiscated from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria since Hamas’s October 7 attack.
In December, the IDF disclosed it seized 85,000 weapons from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
