Immediately after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israel bombed all Syrian military assets it hoped to keep out of the hands of the rebels – striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy, and claiming to capture 90% of Syria’s occupied territory. Zhishui faces air missiles.
But Israel’s capture of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest peak, may be one of its most lasting victories – although officials insist its occupation is only temporary.
“This is the highest place in the region, overlooking Lebanon, Syria and Israel,” said Efraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). “It is extremely important strategically. Mountains are irreplaceable.
Israeli armored vehicles in the Demilitarized Buffer Zone in the Golan Heights. – Matthias Delacroix/AP
The summit of Mount Hermon is in Syria, within a fifty-year buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces until Israeli forces took control of it last weekend. Until Sunday, the summit was demilitarized and patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers – their highest permanent position in the world.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered troops to prepare for harsh conditions during winter deployments. “Due to developments in Syria, maintaining our control of the summit of Mount Hermon is of enormous security importance,” he said in a statement.
According to the Syrian activist group Voice of the Capital, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have crossed the mountaintop and reached as far as Bekasem, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Syrian capital. CNN could not independently confirm this claim. An Israeli military spokesman denied this week that troops were “moving towards” Damascus.
Israeli artillery on Mount Hermon in 1974.
Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in southwestern Syria adjacent to Mount Hermon, in the 1967 war and has occupied it ever since. Syria attempted to retake the territory through a surprise attack in 1973, but failed, and Israel annexed the area in 1981. Sovereignty claims.
Israel has controlled some of Mount Hermon’s lower slopes for decades and even operates a ski resort there, but the summit remains in Syria itself.
“We have no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video just days after Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian targets and occupied a demilitarized buffer zone. “But we certainly intend to take all necessary steps to protect our safety.”
The top of Mount Hermon is a huge asset under Israeli control. At 9,232 feet (2,814 meters) above sea level, it is higher than any mountain in Syria or Israel, and second only to a peak in Lebanon.
“People sometimes say that land didn’t matter in the missile age – that’s completely untrue,” Inbar said.
In an academic paper published in 2011, he described Mount Hermon’s many advantages.
“It enables electronic surveillance deep into Syrian territory, providing Israel with an early warning capability in case of imminent attacks,” he wrote. He argued that advanced technological alternatives such as airborne surveillance simply do not compare. “Compared to facilities on mountains, they cannot carry heavy equipment such as large antennas and can be shot down by anti-aircraft missiles.”
Israeli troops on Mount Hermon on Sunday. – social media
The peak is only 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Damascus, which means that control of the Syrian foothills (now also in the hands of the Israel Defense Forces) puts the Syrian capital within artillery range.
The Israeli prime minister said he had “reached out a helping hand” to the new Syrian government. But in a post-October 7 world, he and other national security heavyweights have made clear they will take no chances.
“More than anything, it’s a comfort to us,” retired Brigadier General Israel Ziv said of Israel’s actions in Syria. “We are aware of incidents in other countries where terrorist groups have seized military equipment.”
Netanyahu also insists the occupation is temporary. “Israel will not allow jihadist groups to fill this vacuum and threaten Israeli communities in the Golan Heights with October 7-style attacks,” he said. He said his criteria for withdrawing troops would be a Syrian army “that can create forces committed to the 1974 agreement and that can guarantee the security of our borders.”
It’s unclear when this will be achieved.
Inbar said whether the troops would withdraw “is a political decision.” “The military is happy to stay there.”
Mike Schwartz and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
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