IDF to stay in Southern Syria indefinitely

January 28, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a visit to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces will remain there indefinitely, apparently backtracking on repeated assurances from Israel that the move was temporary.

“The IDF will remain at the summit of the Hermon and the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the north, and all the residents of Israel,” Katz said, apparently referring to a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border that Israel seized following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last month.

“We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria… we will act against any threat,” he said. “We will not be dependent on others for our security.”