Netanyahu visits troops on Syrian slope of Mount Hermon as Damascus condemns sovereignty breach

Border inspection on Mount Hermon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz visited Israeli troops stationed on the Syrian slope of Mount Hermon on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. The trip marked Netanyahu's third visit to Israeli forces deployed across the border inside Syrian territory, following a previous tour conducted in November 2025. Israeli forces established positions in the sector after advancing into southern Syria following the collapse of the Syrian government in December 2024. Katz had also visited troops deployed in southern Syria two weeks prior to Wednesday's joint inspection.

The Syrian government in Damascus condemned the crossing immediately after the visit was announced. In a statement released by the Syrian foreign ministry, officials described the presence of Israeli leaders on Syrian soil as an illegal incursion and a direct breach of international law.

The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the illegal entry of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into Syrian territory and his tour of Mount Hermon, in a provocative move and a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and of international law.

Statements on Iranian government collapse

During his address to deployed soldiers near the frontier, Netanyahu connected the military deployment on Mount Hermon to the wider six-month conflict across the Middle East. He asserted that the primary strategic focus of Israeli and allied operations remains the dismantling of the Iranian leadership, stating that allied pressure has brought Tehran close to internal collapse.

There is still work to be done - the main task is to bring down the terror regime in Iran. We are very close to that.

Netanyahu reiterated that Israeli military units would prevent hostile factions from establishing operational bases along the border perimeter. He added that the network of Iran-aligned armed factions operating across the region would disintegrate alongside the leadership in Tehran. Hostilities in the regional war escalated in late February 2026 when Israel and the United States initiated a joint strike campaign against Iranian targets. Although Israel accepted a truce framework sponsored by the United States in April 2026, Israeli officials have maintained regular warnings of military retaliation against Iranian moves.

Direct warning to Damascus

From his position on Mount Hermon, Defence Minister Israel Katz delivered a recorded message directed at Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose rebel coalition took power in Damascus in December 2024 after removing Bashar al-Assad. Katz emphasized that Israeli units have no intention of pulling back from the elevated frontier zone overlooking the Syrian capital.

We are here sending a very strong and clear message to the President of Syria, who sits 35 kilometres away down there in his palace in Damascus: we are here on Mount Hermon, we are in the security zone, and we are not moving from here.

Israeli officials have stated that their objective in the area is to maintain a fortified buffer and establish a wider demilitarised zone across southern Syria. Damascus has consistently rejected these unilateral security measures, characterizing the continued troop presence as an occupation of sovereign national territory.

Evolution of the Golan buffer zone

The area currently occupied by Israeli forces corresponds to the United Nations-monitored buffer zone established under the 1974 disengagement agreement on the Golan Heights. Following the fall of the Assad government in late 2024, the Israeli military pushed past the 1974 demarcation line, carried out multiple incursions throughout southern Syria, and launched hundreds of air strikes against military infrastructure across the country.

Israeli leadership maintains that the permanent deployment in the designated security zone is necessary to safeguard its northern border against potential militia regrouping under the new administration in Damascus.