Defense Minister Katz Orders Israeli Troops To Stay In The Mount Hermon Supporting Zone On The Syrian Side During Winter

Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone of Mount Hermon on the Syrian side. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israeli Defense Minister Katz said he had ordered Israeli soldiers to prepare to remain in the top buffer zone of Syrian side of Mount Hermon over the coming winter.

"Due to what is happening in Syria, there is a great security interest for us to take control of Hermon's summit and everything must be done to ensure IDF preparations in the area, to allow troops to remain there in difficult weather conditions," Katz said in a statement. , reported The Times of Israel December 13th.

The decision was issued by Defense Minister Katz after evaluating the situation with IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi and other high-ranking officers on Thursday night.

Quoted from Anadolu, Israeli forces occupied the territory on December 8, when anti-regime forces marched into Damascus, forcing Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia.

Israeli army forces have entered a depth of 2-10 kilometers inside the demilitarized buffer zone along the border with Syria, an Israeli source, who chose not to be named, told Anadolu.

However, he declined to mention the Syrian villages in the buffer zone where Israeli troops were deployed for "security reasons."

According to the UN Release Observer Forces (UNDOF), the buffer zone "spanned more than 75 kilometers and its width ranged from about 10 kilometers in the middle to 200 meters at the southernmost."

On Friday, Defense Minister Katz shared a photo on X which he said showed himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overlooking the top of Mount Hermon in Syria with binoculars, saying the location had "returned control of Israel after 51 years."

"It's a memorable historic moment," he wrote, as reported by NBC News.