This 5-part series of reports covers news of conflict along the border between Israel and Syria. These videos were posted by VICE News to YouTube in December of 2014. WARNING: These videos contain graphic images of war, violence, and suffering.
PART 1 – Syrian Fighters Rescued by the IDF (17 Dec 2014)
In August, al Nusra Front jihadists took control of Syria’s side of the border crossing with Israel and kidnapped over 40 United Nations peacekeepers — who have since been released.
But al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-affiliate, isn’t Israel’s only threat from Syria. President Bashar al-Assad’s military, in a possible effort to bait Israel into its civil war to shore up Arab sympathies, has been lobbing mortars across the border. Just a few weeks ago, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian plane flying over the Golan Heights — the first time it has done so since the 1980s.
In part one of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky gets exclusive access to an IDF special operation, highlighting an unusual relationship they have with their Syrian enemies across the border.
PART 2 – The Israeli Hospital Admitting Syrian Fighters (18 Dec 2014)
In part two of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky visits the Ziv Medical Center, a hospital that is unique for its proximity to the international borders with Lebanon and Syria, and for treating victims of hostilities and soldiers injured on both sides of the border.
PART 3 – War Tourism in the Golan Heights (19 Dec 2014)
In part three of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky visits the top tourist destination in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Up here, tourists and UN observers stand side by side as they enjoy the great vantage of volcanic hills, sprawling vineyards, and Syria’s civil war.
PART 4 – Villagers Caught Between Conflicts (22 Dec 2014)
In part four of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky meets the group caught in the middle of the conflict across the border — the Druze of the Majdal Shams village.
PART 5 – Bedouin Trackers on the Border (23 Dec 2014)
In the final part of our series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky gets a perspective on the looming threat of the al Nusra Front from a special unit of the IDF — Bedouin trackers who specialize in protecting the border.