Israel’s defense minister has instructed troops to prepare for a winter stay on the summit of Mount Hermon, which borders Syria, Lebanon and the United Nations demilitarized buffer zone on the Golan Heights.
The announcement came after Israel seized control of the region on December 8 following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office said in a statement: “Due to what is happening in Syria, it is of critical security importance that we hold the summit.”
Katz posted a photo to X of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu using binoculars, with the caption: “Looking down on the summit of Syria’s Mount Hermon, which is back under Israeli control for the first time in 51 years.”
The United Nations has called on Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“We are deeply concerned by the recent widespread violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
The United Nations said Israel was violating the 1974 military disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which established a buffer zone.
Israel said the 1974 military disengagement agreement “collapsed” with the collapse of the Syrian government.
The peak of Mount Hermon is located on the border of Syria and Lebanon. The UN base near the summit is within the buffer zone.
The Golan Heights is a plateau located approximately 60 km (40 miles) southwest of Damascus.
Israel captured the area from Syria at the end of the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981. The move was not recognized internationally, but the United States unilaterally recognized it in 2019.
After rebel forces overthrew Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took control of the buffer zone and moved into new positions in the Golan Heights, including the summit of Mount Hermon.
Katz’s office said in a statement: “Every step must be taken to ensure the IDF’s readiness to respond to the situation so that combatants can remain in the field even under severe weather conditions.”
Mr. Guterres said Thursday that the 1974 agreement “remains in force” and condemned any action contrary to it. He called on the parties to uphold their obligations, including “ending all unauthorized presence in the breakaway areas.”
Guterres also said he was “particularly concerned” about hundreds of airstrikes by Israel on several locations in Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that its air force and navy carried out more than 350 airstrikes targeting military assets in Syria this week.
Israel said it was acting to prevent weapons “from falling into the hands of extremists.”
