Israel has relayed messages to Sunni rebel groups operating in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights, warning them against attacking or drawing near the Druze village of Khadr, located near the Israeli border not far from the northern Mount Hermon.

The village of Khadr has been surrounded by rebel forces after heavy fighting on Wednesday, mainly between Free Syrian Army and Assad regime forces, AFP reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Khadr "is now totally surrounded by rebels, who just took a strategic hilltop north of the village," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

According to Abdel Rahman, the rebels received reinforcement from Quneitra, near the border, but the regime has yet to send reinforcements to the village. "[T]he Druze villagers are standing with the government," he added.

Though there are no reports of casualties in Khadr, the residents are in a panic, and are requesting assistance from fellow Druze across the border in Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset plenum on Wednesday that Israel is "following the events closely." He added: "I have given instructions that all the necessary actions be taken, and I suggest you will suffice with this statement."

Reports in social media say rebel forces were attempting to take over main routes around the village, and were working to cut off the village from the east and north. In Khadr, residents noted that the fall of the village would be a significant achievement for the rebels, who would be able to cut off the Quneitra province from its supply lines to Damascus.

Earlier on Wednesday, a siren was sounded in the Israeli controlled side in the Golan Heights, after Syrian regime forces fired artillery at two rebels outposts about 1.5 kilometers north-east of Khadr. It is unknown if any shells exploded in Israeli territory.

Israel’s security establishment is preparing for the possibility that Syrian refugees will try to escape the civil war consuming their country by attempting to make their way across the Israel-Syria border.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot expressed concern on Tuesday about the possibility of refugees entering Israel in a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and stated that the IDF would do everything in its power to prevent a massacre.

Israeli Druze leaders have intensified calls lately for Israeli security forces to aid Syrian Druze following attacks by Sunni militias on Druze communities there. Haaretz learned over the weekend that Israel could possibly provide humanitarian aid to the village of Khadr, but is not considering military aid, as Israel is wary of getting directly involved in the civil war in Syria.