In August, al Nusra Front jihadists took control of Syria’s side of the border crossing with Israel and kidnapped over 40 United Nations peacekeepers — who have since been released.
But al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-affiliate, isn’t Israel’s only threat from Syria. President Bashar al-Assad’s military, in a possible effort to bait Israel into its civil war to shore up Arab sympathies, has been lobbing mortars across the border. Just a few weeks ago, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian plane flying over the Golan Heights — the first time it has done so since the 1980s.
Videos by VICE
In part two of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky visits the Ziv Medical Center, a hospital that is unique for its proximity to the international borders with Lebanon and Syria, and for treating victims of hostilities and soldiers injured on both sides of the border.
Read “New Evidence Suggests Israel Is Helping Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights”
Read “Syria and Iran Condemn Israeli Airstrikes Near Damascus”
Watch “The Islamic State Vs. Lebanon”