—- SPECIAL SECURITY REPORT —-

At least one person is dead and several are injured in an explosion on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights Sunday, after an explosive device was detonated near a passing vehicle.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office just confirmed that two people were injured and one killed in the blast, and that the attack was carried out against “civilian sub-contractors for the Ministry of Defense.”

According to Channel 10, the person killed is a 15 year-old boy; the injured include two contractors for the Ministry of Defense, including the boy’s father, and up to two other people.

“A 15-year-old Israeli was killed, he was the son of a contractor,” a ministry official told AFP, saying the boy was traveling in a car with his father and another contractor at the time. Both contractors were also injured in the incident, he said, without saying what caused it.

If true, the person reported dead would be the first Israeli killed in the Golan Heights as a direct result of the Syrian Civil War since the conflict began in 2011.

The IDF has responded to the attack, IDF Radio reported a short time ago, and is now firing on the border town of Quneitra, which is in Syrian President Bashar Assad’s control.

“The latest event on the border with #Syria is the most serious attack against #Israel whilst intentionally targeting Israelis,” IDF Spokesperson’s Office official Peter Lerner tweeted Sunday afternoon. “The IDF responded to the lethal attack by firing tank rounds at Syrian positions.”

‘Assad Will Fail’

The Syrian border with Israel has been less than quiet, with small skirmishes erupting between Syrian rebel forces and the IDF on several occasions.

Credit: Hatzalah Yosh

Earlier this month, Syrian rebels shot at an IDF post near Mount Hermon; no one was hurt.

In early March, two rockets landed also near an IDF post in Mount Hermon. No injuries or damage were reported in that incident.

Despite several incidents, Israel has rarely seen damage or injuries from the threat of Syrian fighting along the border.

Last month, several top military officials warned that the war would inevitably cross into Israel, however – and that when it did, Assad would pay the price.

Credit: Hatzalah Yosh

“It happens quite a lot, almost daily, that a Syrian plane fighting with rebel forces approaches the Golan Heights border” an official said in May. “When it does happen, [Assad] will fall. It’s bound to happen.”

More to follow.