Israel on verge of sending troops into Syria over increased threat of terrorist attack

The Israeli Defence Force is reportedly carrying out manoeuvres to test their capability to launch an attack in the Golan Heights

Israeli soldiers patrolling in the Golan Heights (Jalaa Marey/Getty Images)

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is believed to be preparing for a possible ground operation in Syria.

Local news channel, Channel 2, reported a large scale drill by military forces along the border on Sunday which simulated a possible incursion into Syrian territory and the evacuation of Israeli citizens from nearby border towns.

According to another channel, Channel 10, the drill also prepared for a sophisticated attack by Isis on Israeli troops.

It comes after a senior officer said recent attempts by Hezbollah to carry out terror attacks against Israel from the Golan Heights were orchestrated by Iran.

According to Haaretz, the Israeli Air Force carried out a bomb attack on suspected militants after an attempt to plant an IED along the border fence between Israel and Syria back in April was foiled.

An official told reporters during a briefing on Sunday: “It's clear that Iran is behind all of the terror attacks here (in the Golan) in the past two years.

He said. "The Iranians are using the border – they establish units – whether it's [Imad] Mughniyeh, [Samir] Kuntar, and more – to carry out the attacks."

The military released a video of the attack on Sunday.

There have been several Israeli air strikes against Syrian territory since the civil war began in 2011.

In January, an airstrike on a convoy in the Syrian side of the Golan Heights was believed to have killed a top Hezbollah commander, the Times of Israel reports.

The Shi’a Islamist militant group retaliated with an attack which killed two IDF soldiers.