Syrian rebels capture border crossing with Israel's Golan Heights

Quneitra crossing is the only crossing between Israel and Syria Syrian rebels fighting troops loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have taken over Quneitra crossing - the only crossing between Israel and Syria - after heavy clashes with Syria's military in Golan Heights. Explosions were heard in the area in the early morning. Reports suggest a mortar shell landed at the UN base, located at the crossing; at least one person has been injured.
British based group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said rebels seized the Quneitra crossing after attacking and clashing with Syrian government troops, adding that fierce fighting was still under way.
Israeli security sources confirmed there were exchanges of fire in the area of the crossing, but said it was not yet possible to say whether it had been taken over.
The source added that military has warned farmers not to approach the area and that an unspecified number of Syrian government troops had been taken to a hospital in northern Israel for treatment.
A spokeswoman for Ziv hospital in Safed was unable to confirm or deny the report, referring all enquiries to the military. In the past three months, at least 16 people wounded in the civil war which has gripped the country have crossed the border and received medical treatment at the hospital, which is located in the northern Galilee town of Safed.
Israel seized a large section of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognised by the international community.
Israel and Syria are still technically at a state of war. This capture marks the first time that rebel forces have taken over the border crossing with Israel, following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Meanwhile, United States has condemned a Hezbollah-backed assault on the town of Qusayr, as France kept up the pressure for action over what it said was the regime's use of sarin gas.
The condemnation came as efforts to organise a peace conference in Geneva between the warring sides stalled, with diplomats blaming differences over who could take part.
Washington accused the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of having relied on Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon to win the battle for the strategic town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border, after rebels were ousted following a devastating 17-day assault.
A White House statement condemned the Syrian regime's assault on the town, "which has killed untold numbers of civilians and is causing tremendous humanitarian suffering".
"It is clear that the regime could not contest the opposition's control of Qusayr on its own, and is depending upon Hezbollah and Iran to do its work for it in Qusayr," the statement said.