Just two years ago that number was only 2,000.

Via Ynet:

A sharp increase in the number of al-Qaeda linked fighters joining the fight against President Bashar Assad in Syria is threatening to spill over the borders and prompting the Jewish State to re-evaluate its policy of neutrality in the civil war next door, a senior Israeli intelligence official warned on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because military regulations prevent him from releasing the information, claimed more than 30,000 al-Qaeda linked fighters are active in Syria, a huge increase over previous Western estimates. He did not disclose how Israel reached the figure or specify which groups were included in the count, only defining the fighters as believers in “global jihad,” which he said meant a mix of those linked to al-Qaeda or inspired by the terror network.

The Israeli official estimated that just two years ago there were only about 2,000 jihadis in Syria but claimed the number has mushroomed to more than 30,000 as the conflict has dragged on, presenting the Middle East with a far more dangerous threat. He claimed that the Islamic rebel groups in Syria currently focused on toppling Assad intend to turn their sites on Israel after dispatching the Syrian government.

“After Assad and after establishing or strengthening their foothold in Syria they are going to move and deflect their effort and attack Israel,” he told The Associated Press.

Israeli officials cite at least two cases of recent rocket fire from Lebanon they attribute to the al-Qaeda-linked groups – although independent observers widely interpreted those as an attempt by extremist groups to prompt Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, where the Assad-allied Lebanese Hezbollah militant group has a strong presence.