An Israeli military officer has revealed details of the night the regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad collapsed in December 2024, and how Israeli occupation forces subsequently entered Syrian territory.
In a podcast published by the Israeli military on its official platforms several days ago, Major “M”, deputy commander of the 595th Field Intelligence and Collection Battalion responsible for Syria and Lebanon, said battalion personnel had detected movements by Syrian soldiers in the days preceding the regime’s collapse, including the evacuation of Syrian army positions and confrontations between Syrian soldiers and opposition forces at the time.
She said that on the night of 8 December, the battalion received orders to rapidly prepare for deployment into Syrian territory following the collapse of the ousted regime’s military structure.
According to the officer, the objective was to establish control over positions the Israeli military considered strategically important and prevent the security vacuum from being exploited.
Operation “Arrow of Bashan” Prepared in Less Than 24 Hours
Major “M” said preparations for the operation, which the Israeli military named “Arrow of Bashan”, were completed in less than 24 hours.
She added that the battalion already possessed extensive intelligence knowledge of the Syrian area as a result of years of surveillance and information gathering, allowing it to move rapidly alongside the forces that entered Syrian territory.
The officer said she personally entered Syria during the first days of the operation and saw from the ground the positions and targets she had previously monitored through surveillance screens and drones.
Israeli Intelligence Operations Shift Inside Syria
She explained that the nature of the battalion’s work changed after Israeli occupation forces entered Syrian territory.
Intelligence collection was no longer limited to monitoring developments from the Israeli side of the border, she said, but expanded to operations from within Syrian territory and deeper inside the country.
The purpose, according to the officer, was to build a broader intelligence picture and provide Israeli forces with early warnings.
