Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain on Mt Hermon 'Until Another Arrangement is Found'

17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain on Mt Hermon 'Until Another Arrangement is Found'

17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa

Israel will remain on the strategic Mount Hermon site on the Syrian border until another arrangement is found, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israeli troops occupied Mount Hermon when they moved into a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government this month.

Officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel's borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn and Defense Minister Israel Katz last week ordered troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon over the winter.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu went to the site for an operational briefing with military commanders and security officials.

"We are holding this assessment in order to decide on the deployment of the IDF in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel's security," he said in a statement issued by his office late on Tuesday, referring to the Israeli army.

Israel's move into the buffer zone created following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war has been criticized as a violation of international agreements by a number of countries and the United Nations, which have called for the troops to be withdrawn.



Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon’s Sidon Kills Hamas Member

Rescue workers inspect a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Rescue workers inspect a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
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Israeli Drone Strike in Lebanon’s Sidon Kills Hamas Member

Rescue workers inspect a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Rescue workers inspect a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed one person early Wednesday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Security officials at the scene told The Associated Press that the man killed in the port city of Sidon was a member of the Palestinian Hamas group.
Over the past 19 months, Israel’s military has targeted members of Hamas in Lebanon where the Palestinian group has a military presence.
The group has also carried out rocket attacks from Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, and in recent weeks Lebanese authorities detained several men linked to Hamas on suspicion of firing rockets toward Israel.
Lebanese authorities warned Hamas last week that it would face the “harshest measures” if it carried out any attacks from Lebanon.