Israel is consolidating its occupation of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, including the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon, the tallest peak in the heights. Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to complete its takeover of the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Israel and Syria, which was established after the October 1973 war, according to Times of Israel. The IDF said that its deployment to the buffer zone was a defensive and temporary measure amid the situation in Syria, but said that it may end up staying there for a long time, depending on the developments in the country. According to the military, troops were carrying out defensive operations “to prevent any threat.”
The IDF denied reports, however, that Israeli forces were advancing towards Damascus. “Reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that IDF troops are advancing or approaching Damascus are completely incorrect,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman said on X. “IDF troops are present inside the buffer zone and at defensive positions close to the border in order to protect the Israeli border,” he added, according to ToI military correspondent Mannie Fabian.
