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Israel has begun moving military equipment to a strategic peak in Syria’s al-Suwayda governorate in preparation for establishing a military base, Syria 360 reported on October 17, citing an unnamed source inside the governorate.
The source said dozens of Israeli military helicopters had transported weapons, equipment and advanced systems to the area over the preceding 72 hours.
Israeli military personnel, most of them Israeli Druze, had also arrived to survey the site, the source said, suggesting the base could be used for early warning, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance.
The site is said to be Tel al-Qulaib, a peak in the Jabal al-Arab highlands southeast of al-Suwayda city. The peak previously housed a Syrian army air defense radar site, and its fortifications reportedly remain intact. A concrete airstrip about 700 meters long lies immediately south of the peak.
The combination of elevated terrain, existing military infrastructure and a nearby airstrip could make the site useful for several military purposes.
Radar equipment could provide early warning of missiles and drones approaching from the directions of Iran and Iraq, while communications systems could support Israeli drone operations farther afield.
The airstrip could also support helicopter operations. Israel operates KC-130H Hercules tanker aircraft capable of refueling helicopters in flight, potentially extending the helicopters’ range for long-distance missions. A forward base there could help support helicopter missions to insert or retrieve special forces in Iran, as well as search-and-rescue operations to recover aircrews during a future conflict.
The reported preparations come amid an escalation of Israeli military activity across southern Syria. On October 18, Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned incursions into Quneitra and the Daraa countryside, citing increased helicopter, reconnaissance and warplane activity.
The ministry accused Israel of violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement through repeated incursions, raids on civilian homes, arrests and the destruction of agricultural land.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said earlier, on October 9, that open-source monitoring had recorded about 280 incidents involving armed Israeli incursions into Syria during September, the highest monthly total since the beginning of the year. The reported incidents included raids on homes, movement restrictions, intimidation, arbitrary detentions and damage to livelihoods.
If the reported base is established and used to support Israeli operations against Iran, it could become a target in any future confrontation. Druze factions in al-Suwayda seen as helping Israel could also face retaliation from the Islamic Republic or its allies.
Such a confrontation could work in Damascus’s favor. If local armed factions that helped facilitate an Israeli presence were weakened by retaliation or drawn into a regional conflict, the Syrian government could gain an opportunity to expand its influence in al-Suwayda.
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the turds are the whores of the middle east. they have systematically betrayed every country they live in serving joo and amerikunt interests. if erdogan wiped them out he would be doing everybody a favour.