Previously undisclosed operations led by a fallen Druze commander reveal how Israel was confronting threats across its northern border years before Assad’s downfall.

By The IDF Club

For years, Israel’s border with Syria appeared relatively quiet. But beyond the Golan Heights security fence, an Israeli commander was quietly waging a military campaign against threats he feared could one day endanger Israeli communities.

That commander was Col. Ehsan Daqsa, who was killed fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza on October 20, 2024.

Now, exactly two years after his death, previously undisclosed details of the secret cross-border operations he led have emerged in a report published Tuesday by Ynet, highlighting the foresight of a commander who recognized the dangers brewing beyond Israel’s northern border years before Syria’s security landscape was transformed.

Operating under the codename “Date Harvest,” Daqsa led a series of operations between 2021 and 2023 aimed at preventing Syrian military forces from establishing positions in sensitive areas near the Israeli frontier.

The campaign began after Syrian forces erected tents, military structures, and outposts in the demilitarized zone separating the two countries. Although the positions did not necessarily represent an immediate threat, Daqsa reportedly recognized that they could become dangerous if the regional security situation deteriorated or hostile organizations gained access to them.

Rather than waiting for those threats to materialize, he sought to eliminate the infrastructure before it could be used against Israel.

According to Ynet, Israeli forces struck two Syrian military outposts in November 2021, followed by a deeper operation against another position in August 2023. The missions involved ground raids, tanks, and precision strikes using Spike anti-tank missiles, demonstrating a willingness to operate beyond the border fence even during a period of relative calm.

The objective was not simply to respond to enemy activity, but to prevent strategically important terrain and military infrastructure from becoming potential assets for Hezbollah or other hostile forces.

Officers who served alongside Daqsa described a commander who refused to interpret quiet along the border as evidence that the danger had disappeared. He understood that Syria’s prolonged instability could rapidly transform seemingly insignificant military positions into serious threats.

Daqsa’s concerns also extended beyond military threats. As a member of Israel’s Druze community, he was deeply troubled by the uncertain future of Druze civilians across the border, particularly in southern Syria.

His widow, Huda, told Ynet that her husband frequently worried about developments in Syria, even when the situation appeared relatively stable.

Those concerns gained new significance following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 and the deadly violence against Druze communities in Syria’s Sweida province in July 2025, which prompted Israeli military intervention.

Daqsa did not live to witness those developments, but the concerns he expressed years earlier reflected his understanding of how quickly Syria’s fragile security situation could unravel.

Today, Israel’s military presence inside Syria has become an openly declared element of its northern defense strategy.

In the immediate aftermath of Assad’s downfall in December 2024, Israeli forces entered the Syrian buffer zone and seized strategic positions, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, to prevent hostile groups from establishing themselves near Israeli communities along the Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that Israel will maintain its military presence in the area for as long as necessary to prevent threats from emerging.

During a September visit to Mount Hermon, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not allow terrorist forces to establish themselves along its border.

Defense Minister Israel Katz subsequently reinforced that position, declaring that Israeli troops would remain on Mount Hermon and in the Syrian security zone as long as threats persisted.

“We will not allow Syria to become a threat to Israel, and we will act as necessary to prevent this,” Katz said in September.

The declarations reflect a security doctrine centered on confronting potential threats beyond Israel’s borders, an approach that Daqsa’s previously undisclosed operations demonstrate was already being implemented years before Assad’s downfall.

The circumstances, however, have changed dramatically. Daqsa’s operations targeted positions associated with Assad’s military, while Israel’s current security concerns involve the forces and armed organizations operating under Syria’s new leadership.

Nevertheless, the underlying challenge remains much the same: preventing instability across the border from developing into a direct threat to Israeli communities.

The fate of Syria’s Druze population has also become a central issue in Israel’s dealings with Damascus.

Last week, Netanyahu revealed that he had personally spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during the July 2025 violence in Sweida, warning him over attacks against the Druze community.

According to Netanyahu, the conversation was brief and forceful. Separate reporting indicated that he demanded the withdrawal of Syrian forces and threatened additional military action if his warning was ignored.

Two years after Daqsa’s death, the revelation of his secret campaign offers a new perspective on his military legacy, showing how a commander operating largely out of public view was already confronting challenges that continue to shape Israel’s security strategy along its northern border.