Syrians fleeing fighting in the country’s south have been turned away from the Golan Heights border area by Israeli soldiers, video footage shows.

Several dozen people can be seen approaching the Israeli-occupied frontier in Al Jazeera footage of the incident, waving white cloths in an apparent request for help or refuge.

A Reuters reporter at the scene said an officer on the Israeli side of the militarised fence told the crowd in Arabic, “Go back before something bad happens. If you want us to be able to help you, go back,” using a megaphone. “Get a move on.”

The displaced men, women and children turned back to their makeshift camp after the interaction on Tuesday.

"The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) safeguards the upholding of the 1974 [disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria], an IDF spokesperson said.

"The IDF will continue to stand by the principle of non-intervention in Syria and will continue to provide humanitarian aid from Israel, as has been provided for several years, according to the existing need."

An estimated 320,000 people have fled to the southern borders with Jordan and Israel since the Russian-backed Syrian offensive to retake rebel-held Deraa province began last month.

Air strikes and shelling – including illegal barrel-bombing by Syrian government helicopters – have killed more than 100 civilians and caused some of the worst displacement of the seven-year-old war to date. At least six medical facilities in the area have also been bombed out of action.

Civilians The Independent has spoken to in recent weeks described leaving their towns and villages sometimes with little more than the clothes on their back as the Syrian army and allied militias rapidly advanced through the province.

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Show all 20 1 /20 Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps This young child hides under the cover of endless white nylon tent sheeting from new visitors entering the camp. The hesitancy to engage soon passes and curiosity follows as he is interested to discover more about Muslim Aid. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps In Enmaa camp, Wardi takes a neighbour’s child onto her knee. She has 4 children of her own; they left Homs in 2013 after heavy bombardments and a lack of food. They travelled for 4 days to reach the border. Years on they still suffer acute hunger at times. Muslim Aid Food voucher scheme is literally sustaining and changing lives in these camps. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Taima, (Enmaa camp Lebanon) picks the very few flowers with her friends off the perimeter of the camp floor and hands them to a member of the Muslim Aid team. These acts of kindness are so incredibly powerful to see. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Zaynab currently lives in Suleyman camp in Mohamra, Lebanon in a small tent housing 15 people in two rooms. Zaynab fled Syria in 2013 and travelled through fields and mountains to reach the Lebanese border, traumatised by the fear of planes, bombs and grenades. The family are currently in great need of food and gas. Bread has become very expensive and inaffordable. In her tent was a basket of bread that was stale and mouldy. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Sumayya, Murfat’s youngest sister, peers out from their tent. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps A father attempts to create some normality by teaching his youngest son how to ride his first bike in between the network of tents and alleyways in the camp. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Malik 8 and Hazayfa 5 at Suleyman camp are amongst those fortunate to benefit from schools nearby offering classes after normal hours. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Mothers and wives are left to spend their days in the camps with memories of losing husbands fathers and sons causing in Syria and during their journey to the safety of neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps It is truly amazing the defiance and resilience these children to show that they refuse to give up smiling regardless of how terrible their journey was that brought them to Enmaa camp. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Suleyman camp, Lebanon - many people have medical issues and can’t afford treatment, so cash is desperately needed to provide this support. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Murfat 3, lives with her mother and sister in a shelter provided. Their clothes, damp from the morning showers, left to dry in the porch of the tent by the air which is warm and thick with flies. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Mohammed, 2, Suleyman camp, Lebanon. There are 250,000 Syrian refugees in northern Lebanon alone. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Al Inmar camp, Lebanon. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Malaak, 11, in Suleyman camp, Lebanon. Here children are living in tents which leak in the rain and are too flimsy to shield them from the cold in winter. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps 16 yr old Homam in front of his mobile phone repair business as a result of micro-finance loan from Muslim Aid. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps A young girl looks out across the geography of Enmaa Camp and beyond to the horizon of the coastline. The 250 tents have been squeezed onto a small plot of land amongst a smart residential neighbourhood and acres of poly tunnels growing fruit and vegetables. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Hayaan, just 3 year-old, in Suleyman camp, Lebanon, makes the sign for victory or peace. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps White chalked lines replaced by empty oil drums fashioned into makeshift rubbish bins mark out the perimeter of the pitch. Hamaad, 8 years-old, likes to play football in the wasteland around the tents. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Many of Sulayman’s residents had previously been surviving on donated bags of mouldy bread and some even fasting voluntarily long before the start of Ramadan. Paddy Dowling Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps Sumaha, 10 years-old (Suleyman camp in Lebanon), talks to us with her friends before they leave the camp to attend a class at a nearby school. Photos Paddy Dowling

Many of the displaced are sleeping in cars and under makeshift tarpaulin shelters without adequate shade and water to cope with the 45C (113F) heat.

Both Jordan and Israel have reiterated that their borders will remain closed to refugees, despite calls from both stranded Syrians and the international community to reconsider.

The plea for help or safe passage into Israel is a strange one considering the historical enmity between the two countries: Syria refused to recognise the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 and the two countries technically remain in state of war after three rounds of direct fighting.

Since Syria’s civil war began, however, Israel has provided medical assistance for both fighters and civilians near its borders but has refused to grant asylum to citizens.

“I think that we have really done all that can be done,” defence minister Avigdor Lieberman told Tel Aviv radio station 103FM. “We are not prepared to accept even one refugee. That’s not our job. There are lots of Arab countries, rich countries.”

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“Everyone is trying to escape death because the Jordanian border is blocked,” 27-year-old Ammar, an injured Syrian being treated at an Israeli military hospital in the Golan, told The Independent last week.

“It’s strange for us that Israel is more humanitarian than our Arab brothers. I once even heard people saying they hope that Israel would include this area in the Golan,” he adds.

Some civilians are trying to return home as town after town signs surrender deals with Bashar al-Assad’s troops, which offer safe passage to other opposition held areas in return for handing over their weapons.

Hundreds of people displaced to Quneitra, which borders the Golan, on Tuesday returned to the large town of Nawa after reports of a Russian-brokered deal that would spare the town of 100,000 people the bombardment seen elsewhere, war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

On Wednesday, however, reports emerged of civilian casualties there thanks to intensive airstrikes. Shelling also put a hospital in the city out of action, the organisation reported.

Deraa is supposedly part of a de-escalation deal between Mr Assad’s forces and rebel groups brokered by the US, Russia and Jordan last year, but the Syrian government says the latest offensive targets terrorist groups not covered by the agreement.

It mirrors other recent “scorched earth” campaigns against the opposition so far this year in eastern Ghouta and the Homs countryside – both also designated de-escalation zones.