ISTANBUL

The Israeli army said Sunday its Alpinist Unit crossed for the first time from the Syrian Golan Heights into southern Lebanon to carry out what it described as a “targeted operation” along the border.

In a statement, the army said troops from the Alpinist Unit, under the command of the 810th Brigade, “completed a targeted operation” to thwart what it called attempts by “terror” groups to establish a foothold along the Lebanon border.

It said the forces operated in complex mountainous terrain, crossing on foot through deep snow from the Syrian Hermon area (Jabal al-Sheikh) in the occupied Golan Heights toward Mount Dov (Shebaa Farms) in southern Lebanon.

According to the statement, the troops conducted reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and worked to locate what the army described as enemy infrastructure, using the specialized capabilities of the mountain commando unit.

No further details were provided whether there were any clashes or casualties.

Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 and expanded into the buffer zone after the Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in 2024.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the south since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

Lebanese authorities said that 1,142 have since been killed and 3,315 others wounded in the Israeli assault.

The escalation came amid a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran, which has killed more than 1,340 people since Feb. 28. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, US bases and Gulf countries.