Netanyahu visits troops in occupied Syria as Damascus slams 'blatant violation' of sovereignty

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again claimed during a visit to Israeli troops in occupied southern Syria on Wednesday that Iran's Islamic republic was on the verge of collapse, as fighting in the six-month Middle East war intensifies. "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," he said on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on the Israel-Syria border during a visit with Defence Minister Israel Katz. "We know that the entire axis will ultimately collapse," he added, referring to Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East. In southern Syria, Israeli troops have been stationed in a so-called security zone since they pushed deeper into the country following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. They occupy what was previously a buffer zone patrolled by the United Nations that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974. "We will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself on our border," Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday. His trip across the border drew condemnation from Damascus, which slammed it as inflammatory and a violation of the country's sovereignty. "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," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement. Read moreHow top Syrian diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani’s road to Damascus is shaking the Mideast The premier was accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz, who addressed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in a video message filmed atop Mount Hermon, vowing that troops would not withdraw. "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," he said. Katz also threatened Iran. "Iran is in the background; we struck it twice, and when necessary we will strike it a third time, in order to continue thwarting the threats," he said. Netanyahu had already visited troops in Syria at least twice in the past, once in December 2024, shortly after Israel took control of the buffer zone, and in November 2025. Katz visited Israeli troops stationed in southern Syria two weeks ago, prompting condemnation from Damascus. Syria had been a staunch ally of Iran under the leadership of Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar, and hosted pro-Tehran paramilitary groups, but the alliance came to an end with Bashar's fall. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since Islamist leaders took over from Assad, and has made repeated incursions into Syrian territory. Officials have also repeatedly vowed to keep troops in the occupied zone, where Israel says it is seeking a broader demilitarised area. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)