Netanyahu says Israeli forces will stay in a buffer zone on the Syrian border until another arrangement is found "that ensures Israel’s security.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the country’s military to remain in the area of Syria’s Mount Hermon until at least the end of 2025, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Israel Katz visited forward positions of the Israel Army at the peak of snow-capped Mount Hermon. They were in Syria, beyond the demilitarised buffer zone agreed in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, entered Syrian territory Tuesday and said Israeli troops would remain in the area

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered Syrian territory on Tuesday during a security tour of the buffer zone seized by Israel in the days since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The previously unannounced trip highlighted Israel’s expanded military presence across the de facto border with Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded with an air and land offensive that has killed 45,000 people, health authorities there say, displaced 1.2 million and left much of the enclave in ruins.

During his visit to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Tuesday, Netanyahu was joined by Herzi Halevi, the military chief of staff, and other officials. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israelis would maintain their presence in the zone for an undermined period — and also signaled skepticism about HTS, which has its roots in Al Qaeda.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his forces will for now occupy territory they had seized over the border in Syria. Netanyahu, who spoke in a video address from Mount

Ankara's growing military presence in Syria has led to a diplomatic clash between former allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported Hamas, even hinting at some sort of armed intervention.

The prime minister details the key decision points in the war against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tours a buffer zone inside Syria that was recently seized by Israeli forces.