The IDF targeted a Syrian army position following the landing of an errant mortar shell in a demilitarized section of the Golan Heights, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

The shell was apparently fired during fighting between the Syrian army and rebel forces in the area. A statement from the IDF said that the shell landed to the east of the border fence between Israel and Syria and that it would enforce the terms of the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.

A commander with the forces backing Assad said that the Israeli strike caused no casualties.

In recent weeks, in defiance of a deescalation agreement, Syrian and allied forces have stepped up attacks on the areas in southwestern Syria bordering Jordan and Golan Heights in an effort to dislodge the rebels from that area. Israel is concerned that Syria, which is backed by Hezbollah and other Iran-backed proxies, will not honor the disengagement agreement.

Israel has repeatedly said that it will not allow Iran to establish a foothold in Syria and has conducted numerous air raids over the past year targeting Iranian assets in Syria.

Earlier this week, Israel moved armored forces to the Golan to support troops there in response to the changing tactical situation in the area.

In an analysis written late last month, Hanin Ghaddar and Phillip Smyth of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy warned that allowing Syrian troops into the region bordering Israel would give cover to Iran to establish a presence there.

“As for the notion that Assad will push Iran out after achieving victory, the return of his forces to the south means just the opposite,” Ghaddar and Smyth wrote. “In a major step toward fulfilling Tehran’s long-term goals, the presence of Syrian forces would serve as a conduit for Hezbollah and other militias to quietly redeploy in the south anytime they like, without having to deal with opposition pockets.”

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr]