Israeli officials reemphasized today that Jerusalem would enforce its long-established “red line” against any Syrian efforts to transfer advanced weapons, including portions of Damascus’s chemical weapons arsenal, to the Bashar al-Assad regime’s Hezbollah allies:

“Our red lines have not changed,” said an Israeli official. “Assad should understand already that he should not play around with us on this issue. Our policy has not changed, despite what is happening in the international arena. If something looks to us like an unusual step, it will be dealt with.”

Hezbollah leaders have in recent days repeatedly and explicitly threatened to attack the Jewish state, doubling down on rhetoric and threats that had already heightened over the summer. Hezbollah has also in recent days moved to redeploy troops into locations near to Israel’s border.

Meanwhile on Thursday, several mortar shells fired from Syria landed in Israel’s Golan Heights near the Israeli-Syrian border, increasing concerns that spillover from the war will threaten stability along Israel’s borders.
[Photo: Freedom House / Flickr]