One thousand days after the October 7 massacre, the buffer zones in Gaza and Lebanon have become well-known to the Israeli public, but the story of the buffer zone in Syria is entirely different. Syria was the only front where there was no continuous fighting following the October 7 attacks.
The current reality began in December 2024, immediately after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by Ahmed al-Julani – now known by his official name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“During Assad’s rule, we faced Syrian Army soldiers on the other side, along with a variety of ‘guests,’” commanders told The Jerusalem Post. They once served on the Israeli side of the border; today, we meet them near Quneitra, inside the buffer zone established after the 1973 Yom Kippur War to separate the Syrian and Israeli militaries.
One commander recalled identifying Hezbollah operatives stationed at a Syrian military outpost and ordering a tank shell to be fired at their position. “It was obvious to us that all the intelligence collected by the Syrian military ultimately found its way to other actors as well,” he said.
Buffer zone to divide from new Syrian government
When Assad’s regime collapsed, uncertainty over who would take control of the buffer zone prompted the IDF to move in.
“We saw Syrian soldiers fleeing because they feared the rebels were about to reach them,” the soldiers recalled. “When we entered the area a few hours later, the coffee was still boiling, clothes were hanging to dry, and food was left scattered around.”
Since then, IDF forces have remained in the area, with the stated mission of ensuring the security of residents of the Golan Heights.
“One of the key lessons of October 7 was that you don’t wait to determine whether a threat exists – you act before it materializes,” one commander said. Before the deployment, he explained, even when Israeli forces identified shepherds who were clearly observing IDF positions, they were prohibited from opening fire as they approached the border fence.
“Today, it’s a completely different story,” he said. “Every threat is dealt with immediately. Our ability to respond to threats and our operational freedom have gone from one to 10.”
Little appetite to withdraw from buffer zone
For now, there appears to be little appetite to withdraw from the buffer zone, largely because of lingering questions over whether Syria’s new president is truly capable of controlling the country.
“There is broad consensus that the Syrian president governs the state, but not all of its territory,” a senior Israeli official told the Post. “There are serious questions about whether he can prevent jihadist organizations – or even Turkey – from establishing a presence near Israel’s border.”
Officials in the US administration believe, as previously reported by the Post, that there is virtually no chance of meaningful progress in talks between Syria and Israel before Israel’s upcoming elections. According to those assessments, Al-Sharaa is demanding at least some Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone as a precondition for any agreement, even one limited to security arrangements.
“From Israel’s perspective, even discussing a withdrawal is problematic,” a source familiar with the negotiations told the Post. “Once you factor in the October elections, the chances of movement become even slimmer.”
On the ground, however, in the Quneitra area and elsewhere, there is little indication that the threat has disappeared.
“At the end of the day, we’re here to protect the residents,” one commander told the Post from inside the buffer zone. “We’re here so they can live their lives in peace and with a sense of security.”
As we leave the Syrian side, we pass a roundabout where a statue of Assad once stood. Today, the statue lies toppled on the ground, its face vandalized and covered in graffiti.
It is a powerful reminder that the calm currently prevailing in the area can be deceptive. In the Middle East, just as Assad’s regime collapsed within days, realities on the ground can change with extraordinary speed.