DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers warned Tuesday that the Israeli military has committed “severe violations” of a cease-fire deal with Syria as its military continues a major construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
The comments from the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, which has patrolled the area since 1974, come after an Associated Press report Monday that published satellite imagery showing the extent of the works along the frontier.
The work, which UNDOF said began in July, follows the completion by the Israeli military of new roadways and what appears to be a buffer zone along the Gaza Strip’s frontier with Israel. The Israel military also has begun demolishing villages in Lebanon, where other U.N. peacekeepers have come under fire.
While such violence hasn't broken out along the Alpha Line, UNDOF warned the work risked further inflaming tensions in the region.
“Such severe violations of the (demilitarized zone) have the potential to increase tensions in the area and is being closely monitored by UNDOF,” it added.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Syrian officials have declined to comment on the construction, though UNDOF described Syria as having “strongly protested” the work.
High-resolution images taken on Nov. 5 by Planet Labs PBC for the AP show over 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) of construction along the Alpha Line, starting some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of the Israeli-held Druze town of Majdal Shams. That's the town where a July rocket strike killed 12 children playing soccer.
The images appear to show a trench between two embankments, parts of which appear to have been laid with fresh asphalt. There also appears to be fencing running along it as well toward the Syrian side.
The construction follows a southeast route before heading due south along the Alpha Line, and then again cutting southeast. The images show excavators and other earth-moving equipment actively digging along the route, with more asphalt piled there. The area is also believed to be littered with unexploded ordnance and mines from decades of conflict.
As Israel conducted the construction work, which UNDOF described as “extensive engineering groundwork activities” and “ditches,” it has protected earth-moving equipment with armored vehicles and main battle tanks, the peacekeepers said Tuesday. Troops and earth-moving equipment have crossed the Alpha Line into the demilitarized zone in Syria, known to UNDOF as the “area of separation.”
“Violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement have occurred where engineering works have encroached into the AoS,” the peacekeepers said in a statement, using an acronym for the area. “There have been several violations by (Israel) in the form of their presence in the AoS because of these activities.”
UNDOF has repeatedly protested the work, which it described as violating the cease-fire deal over the months of construction so far.
“Based on the engagement, (Israel) has indicated that the current earthworks are being carried out for (a) defensive purpose to prevent unauthorized crossing and violations by civilians,” the peacekeepers added.
Israel sent a 71-page letter in June to the U.N. outlining what it described as “Syrian violations of the Alpha Line and armed presence in the area of separation (that) occur daily.” The letter cited numerous Israeli-alleged violations by Syrian civilians crossing the line.
Syria has constantly accused Israel of launching attacks against it from territory it occupies in the Golan Heights. Israel has frequently struck Syria over the years, particularly after the start of the Mideast wars following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. The U.N. Secretary Council voted to create UNDOF to patrol a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized zone and maintain the peace there after the 1973 Mideast war. A second demarcation, known as the Bravo Line, marks the limit of where the Syrian military can operate. The lines are delineated by barrels.
UNDOF has around 1,100 troops, mostly from Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Uruguay, who patrol the area.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 — a move criticized by a U.N. resolution declaring Israel’s action as “null and void and without international legal effect.” The territory, some 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) in size, is a strategic high ground that overlooks both Israel and Syria.
Around 50,000 Jewish settlers and Arabs who are mostly members of the Druze sect of Shiite Islam live there.
In 2019, President Donald Trump unilaterally announced that the United States would “fully recognize” Israel’s control of the territory, a decision that has been unchanged by the Biden administration. However, it's the only other country to do so, as the rest of the world views it as occupied Syrian territory.
UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw 'severe violations' of cease-fire
UN force says Israeli work on so-called Alpha Line with Syria saw 'severe violations' of cease-fire
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows Israeli forces digging along the Alpha Line separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from a demilitarized zone in Syria patrolled by United Nations forces on Nov. 5, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Janet Rapp strode briskly down a paved path through the city zoo, waving at friends and stopping briefly to greet emus she knows by name.
The 71-year-old retiree starts each morning this way with a walking club.
“I’m obsessed,” she said. Not only does it ease her joint pain, “it just gives me energy … And then it calms me, too.”
Medical experts agree that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, bolster fitness and prevent disease. While it’s not the only sort of exercise people should do, it’s a great first step toward a healthy life.
“You don’t need equipment and you don’t need a gym membership,” said Dr. Sarah Eby, a sports medicine physician with Mass General Brigham. “And the benefits are so vast.”
Walking can help meet the U.S. surgeon general’s recommendation that adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. This helps lowers the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer.
Walking also improves blood sugar levels, is good for bone health and can help you lose weight and sleep better, added Julie Schmied, a nurse practitioner with Norton Healthcare, which runs the free Get Healthy Walking Club.
Another advantage? It’s a low-impact exercise that puts less pressure on joints as it strengthens your heart and lungs.
James Blankenship, 68, said joining the walking club at the Louisville Zoo last year helped him bounce back after a heart attack and triple bypass in 2022.
“My cardiologist says I’m doing great,” he said.
For all its benefits, however, walking “is not enough for overall health and well-being” because it doesn’t provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance, said Anita Gust, who teaches exercise science at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
That's especially important for women’s bone health as they age.
Experts recommend adding such activities at least twice weekly – using weights, gym equipment or your own body as resistance — and doing exercises that improve flexibility like yoga or stretching.
Nearly everyone has heard about this walking goal, which dates back to a 1960s marketing campaign in Japan. But experts stress that it’s just a guideline.
The average American walks about 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day and it's fine to gradually work up to 10,000, Shmied said.
Setting a time goal can also be useful. Shmied suggests breaking the recommended 150 minutes per week into 30 minutes a day, or 10 minutes three times a day, for five days. During inclement weather, people can walk in malls or on treadmills.
As they become seasoned walkers, they can speed up the pace or challenge themselves with hills while still keeping the activity level moderate.
“If you can talk but not sing,” Eby said, “that’s what we consider moderate-intensity exercise.”
Walking with friends – including dogs – is one way.
Walking clubs have popped up across the nation. In 2022, New York personal trainer Brianna Joye Kohn, 31, started City Girls Who Walk with a TikTok post inviting others to walk with her.
“We had 250 girls show up,” she said.
Since then, the group has walked every Sunday for around 40 minutes, with some meeting afterward for brunch or coffee.
The Louisville Zoo launched its walking club in 1987, partnered with Norton in 2004 to expand it, and now boasts more than 15,000 registered members. Every day from March 1 through Oct. 31, people walk around and around the 1.4-mile loop before the zoo officially opens.
Tony Weiter meets two of his siblings every Friday. On a recent morning, they caught up on each other’s lives as they zipped past zebras in a fenced field and a seal sunning itself.
“I enjoy the serenity of it. It’s cold but the sun is shining. You get to see the animals,” said Weiter, 63. “It’s a great way to start the morning.”
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk a path past the giraffe enclosure during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
From left, Lou Ann Parrino, Lisa Weisert, and Janie Reinert, members of the Get Healthy Walking Club pause during their morning walk to say good morning to one of the animals at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A member of the Get Healthy Walking Club walks past the rhinoceros exhibit in the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the early morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Janet Rapp, a member of the Get Healthy Walking Club stands in front of the zebra enclosure during the early morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk a path past the giraffe enclosure during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
From left, Lou Ann Parrino, Lisa Weisert, and Janie Reinert, members of the Get Healthy Walking Club pause during their morning walk to say good morning to one of the animals at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A member of the Get Healthy Walking Club walks past the rhinoceros exhibit in the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the early morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Janet Rapp, a member of the Get Healthy Walking Club stands in front of the zebra enclosure during the early morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Get Healthy Walking Club walk the paths past the animal enclosures during the morning at the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
