Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reaffirmed the country's commitment to occupying a portion of Syrian territory outside Israel's northern borders for an indefinite period.

During a visit to Mount Hermon, Gallant stated, "The Israel Defense Forces is prepared to remain in Syria for an indefinite time...

We will maintain the security zone on Mount Hermon and ensure that all security areas in southern Syria are demilitarized and free from arms and threats."

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December, Israeli forces have moved to control a 400-square-kilometer buffer zone in Syrian territory.

This demilitarized zone was established by the United Nations after the 1973 war, positioning Israeli-controlled Golan Heights adjacent to Syria.

Since then, a UN force of around 1,100 troops has conducted patrols in the area.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara has claimed to have severed ties with extremist groups for years, promising representative governance and religious tolerance.

However, Israeli officials maintain that the new Syrian regime, along with other armed groups active in the country, continues to pose a potential threat.

Gallant asserted that the presence on Mount Hermon is essential to defend Israeli settlements in northern Israel and along contested borders.

Israel also aims to disrupt Iran's ability to transfer weapons through Syria to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Israel's incursion in Syria in December has drawn widespread international condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of capitalizing on the collapse of Assad's regime to seize territory.

Reports indicate that the Israeli military has established nine military sites within Syrian territory, including two at the summit of Mount Hermon, some located in newly fortified positions of the former Syrian army.

In a speech last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the "complete disarmament of southern Syria." Israeli warplanes have conducted hundreds of strikes since Assad's fall, targeting military equipment left by the former regime, with officials describing a newly defined extensive area across much of southwestern Syria as territory that Israel will ensure remains "demilitarized."

Israel has also offered protection to the Druze minority in Syria, many of whom live near the Israeli border.

Some analysts have warned that Israel risks becoming embroiled in a complex conflict in Syria, recalling its costly and long-term occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. Retired Colonel Dr. Jack Neria, an Israeli analyst, cautioned, "I hope we do not entertain notions like those we had in Lebanon.

We were mired in the Lebanese quagmire for more than 20 years.

Let us hope we do not sink into the Syrian quagmire...

We said our intentions were temporary, and now we hear something different."