Heavy artillery shells, automatic gunfire and the shouts of Syrian combatants were heard on the Israeli Golan Heights yesterday and today as the civil war raged on just yards across the frontier – clearly visible to Israeli onlookers.

The Syrian army launched Operation Earthquake of Quneitra aimed at regaining control of two villages – Hamidiyya and Samdaniyya – in the Quneitra area of the Golan. Violent clashes erupted between army soldiers and local opposition forces, al-Hayat (Arabic link) reported.

According to Lebanese al-Akhbar (Arabic source), the Syrian Army decided to take a step to regain the villages and prevent the Nusra Front from capturing the nearby townships al-Ba’th and Khan-Arnaba in  the Quneitra district.

In the first hours of the initiative, there were signs of success for the Syrian Army, the pro-Assad al-Akhbar suggested. Another  pro-Assad outlet, Al-Mayadin (Arabic link) TV, also reported on “significant progress” of the Syrian army in Quneitra.

However, according to Syrian opposition websites (Arabic link), the opposition forces, including the Free Syrian Army, made significant gains in their struggle against the regime. “Assad’s forces suffered heavy losses,” boasted all4syria (Arabic link).

“The rebels succeeded in killing at least 40 soldiers of the regime’s army and the national defense forces, and took more than 20 of them as hostages.”

According to opposition sources (Arabic link), Assad’s forces eventually fled the scene.

The Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syria wing, and some other Syrian rebels have reportedly been in control of the Quneitra crossing between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights for the last month. While Israel is monitoring the situation very closely, there are reportedly no plans for the Israel Defense Forces to intervene unless there is a direct threat to Israeli sovereignty.

[Photo: The Tower]