Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSyria accuses Israel of seizing territory near Mount Hermon, raising regional security concerns amid ongoing talks.
CAIRO (Reuters) -Syria said on Monday that Israel had sent 60 soldiers to take control of an area inside the Syrian border around Mount Hermon, saying the operation violated its sovereignty and posed a further threat to regional security.
Israel did not immediately comment on the accusation by Syria's foreign ministry, which comes as the two countries engage in U.S.-mediated talks on de-escalating their conflict in southern Syria. Damascus hopes to reach a security arrangement that could eventually pave the way for broader political talks.
Monday's incident took place near a strategic hilltop that overlooks Beit Jinn, an area of southern Syria close to the border with Lebanon, the ministry said. Israel also arrested six Syrians there, according to residents in the area.
The area is known for arms smuggling by Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah group and by Palestinian jihadist factions. Previous Israeli incursions have mostly been in the southern Quneitra governorate.
The Israeli military on Sunday shared footage of what it said were troops locating weapons storage facilities last week in southern Syria.
"This dangerous escalation is considered a direct threat to regional peace and security," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israel has cited its own security concerns for its military interventions inside Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December, including what it sees as its obligation to protect members of the Druze minority in southern Syria.
Hundreds of people were reported killed in clashes last month in the southern province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killings of Druze by the Syrian government forces.
In January, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would remain on the summit of Mount Hermon indefinitely.
Israel has since then formed a de facto security zone, where it regularly patrols, sets up checkpoints, and carries out searches and raids in villages.
(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Regional security refers to the measures taken by countries in a specific area to ensure stability and safety from external threats, often involving military and diplomatic strategies.
Military intervention is the act of a country using its armed forces to influence or control a situation in another country, often to maintain or restore peace and security.
Sovereignty is the authority of a state to govern itself and make decisions independently, free from external interference.
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