The Israeli leader highlighted the importance of both defensive and offensive capabilities to “safeguard the State of Israel and its northern border facing the Golan Heights.”
GOLAN HEIGHTS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare visit on Wednesday to Israeli troops deployed inside Syrian territory, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
The visit, which included Army Chief Eyal Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, underscored Israel’s deepening military footprint across the northern border.
“Today I visited the ‘buffer zone’ in Syria, received an operational report, and met with the fighters who bravely defend Israel every day,” Netanyahu stated on his X social media account. “Proud of our fighters.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the strategic necessity of the deployment. “We attach immense importance to our capabilities here, both defensive and offensive, to safeguard our Druze allies and especially to safeguard the State of Israel and its northern border facing the Golan Heights,” he explained. Addressing the soldiers, he added, “This is a mission that can develop at any moment, but we count on you.”
According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu conveyed “the gratitude not only of the Government of Israel but also of the citizens of Israel and the State of Israel.” Photographs published by the Prime Minister’s office showed him flanked by the high-ranking officials in the field.
Israel multiplied its military incursions into Syrian territory after the former president Bashar al-Assad fled the country following the capture of Damascus on December 8 by rebels led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group’s leader, Ahmed al-Shara, is currently serving as the country’s transitional president.
Israeli tanks breached the “Alpha Line”—which demarcated Israeli-occupied territory from the rest of Syria—on December 7, just hours after Al-Assad’s fall. Forces penetrated the demilitarized zone previously patrolled by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and, in some cases, advanced further towards the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Defense Minister Israel Katz affirmed in September, speaking from Mount Hermon, that troops would remain in Syria “indefinitely” with the goal of protecting communities in the Golan Heights from “any threat,” amidst ongoing contacts to reach a bilateral security agreement.
Separately, hours before Netanyahu’s visit, Israeli police confirmed the arrest of several suspects, including five soldiers and reservists and several Syrian civilians, during an operation in the north against an alleged weapons trafficking network.
“The case revealed intense activity of the weapons smuggling infrastructure from the area of the Syrian town of Hatzer, near the border in the Golan Heights,” the police stated. Netanyahu noted on X that the network was involved in transferring weapons across the border to “criminal elements,” including plans to transfer explosives, assault rifles, and grenade launchers.
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