A Biden administration official backed the IDF's advance into Syrian territory following the fall of the Assad regime in a conversation with Kan News on Tuesday saying that Israel made it clear that it is a "temporary and tactical operation to defend its borders."
"No nation can tolerate terror groups being right on their doorstep," the official told the Israeli broadcaster. "Since the Syrian army abandoned its posts in the Israeli-Syrian buffer zone and the area, Israel declared that Syria's enforcement of the 1974 armistice agreement had collapsed. Israel took temporary actions to stabilize the buffer zone and prevent an invasion of Israeli territory. We hope that in the future we will again see stability in the region."
According to the report, Israel updated the US about its operations in Syrian territory and the US administration did not oppose them.
Earlier on Tuesday the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network that Israeli tanks are now positioned approximately 20 kilometers from the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Reports also indicated the IDF has taken control of nine villages in the southern outskirts of Damascus, near the border with Lebanon. At the same time, there were reports of extensive strikes in the Damascus area.