Israeli forces have advanced further into Syria in several places beyond the buffer zone of the occupied Golan Heights, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said today, DPA reported.
The SOHR reported that Israeli troops had advanced another 7 km into Syrian territory.
According to the center, Israeli units had reached the towns of Suissa and Qusaybah in Syria.
The Israeli military said that its forces were "operating in southern Syria, within the buffer zone and at strategic points to protect the residents of northern Israel".
"For reasons of security for our forces, specific locations will not be disclosed," they added they.
The Israeli army has deployed troops to the demilitarized buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and neighboring Syria after the regime of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel alliance. The move has been met with international criticism.
The Golan Heights is a strategically important rocky plateau, about 60 km long and 25 km wide. It was captured by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981 - a move not recognized internationally.