Israel establishes military posts near Syria's Damascus: monitor

Israeli forces have established military positions in a strategic village southwest of Damascus, about 20 km from the Syrian capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday, reported Xinhua.

According to the Britain-based war monitor, the posts were set up on August 21 in Rakhlah, a village in the Mount Hermon area which overlooks three key roads linking Damascus with Lebanon's Baalbek and Beirut.

The observatory said the move gives Israel a "significant strategic advantage," placing its forces within artillery range of vital highways, including the Beirut-Masnaa and Beirut-Zahle routes, which are considered essential supply lines for Hezbollah.

It added that the deployment appears to be part of Israel's wider strategy to encircle the Lebanese group and cut its potential supply routes.

There has been no official comment from Syria's interim authorities on the reported deployment.

Israel has carried out repeated airstrikes in southern Syria, targeting military sites and what it says are Hezbollah and Iranian-linked assets. The reported fixed presence on the ground near Damascus would mark a major escalation in the tension between the two countries.