Troops from the Israel Defense Forces’ Alpinist Unit, under the command of the 810th Brigade, have completed a targeted operation to thwart attempts by terrorist organizations to establish a foothold along the Lebanon border, the Israeli military said on Sunday morning.
As part of the operation, the troops crossed on foot through deep snow from the Syrian Hermon to the Mount Dov area in southern Lebanon, to conduct reconnaissance and identify terrorist infrastructure, according to the IDF.
The Alpinist Unit specializes in combat in snow and low temperatures. In January, it completed an annual series of training exercises designed to prepare the troops for the extreme weather conditions of Mount Hermon.
Israel seized Mount Hermon’s summit on Dec. 8, 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime to radical Islamist rebel forces. It has since built at least seven military outposts in the demilitarized zone, on the Syrian side.
The new outposts are considered vital strategic positions in the buffer zone separating Israel from Syria. They span the entire demilitarized zone, from Mount Hermon in the north to Tel Kudna in the south, near the border area between Israel, Jordan and Syria.
In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that the IDF’s presence in the buffer zone was of extended, if not permanent, duration. “[In] Syria, IDF forces will remain at Hermon Peak and in the buffer zone indefinitely to protect our communities and thwart any threat,” he said.
Israel would neither permit the rebel group that toppled the Assad regime nor the new Syrian army “to enter the area south of Damascus. We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria—in the Quneitra, Daraa, and As-Suwayda provinces—of the new regime’s forces. Additionally, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria,” the prime minister continued.
In May, 2025, the IDF located and destroyed the central military headquarters of the former Syrian regime in the Mount Hermon region. During the operation, Israeli forces uncovered bunkers and an extensive weapons cache, including artillery, mortars, rocket launchers, explosives and landmines.
