The Israel Defense Forces thwarted an attempt by terrorists to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon during an overnight operation near the Hermon summit, the military said on Thursday.
Troops stationed in Syria, working in coordination with the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, apprehended several suspects attempting to carry out the smuggling after detecting suspicious movement in the area, according to the IDF statement.
The weapons were seized and the suspects were transferred to the custody of Israel’s security agencies for interrogation, it continued.
“IDF troops continue to be deployed in the area in order to protect Israeli civilians and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular,” added the military.
Overnight on Friday, Israeli forces thwarted yet another attempt to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon, arresting several suspects in the Mount Hermon summit area, the military said on Saturday. The confiscated arms included grenades, pistols, anti-tank rockets and ammunition.
After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Jerusalem seized control of parts of southern Syria, expanding a security zone and maintaining a military presence amid ongoing clashes and airstrikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sept. 22 dismissed reports that his government was willing to give up the country’s buffer zone in Syria as part of a possible security deal with the new regime in Damascus.
Talks with Syria are focused on “a security arrangement in which they demilitarize southwest Syria, and we ensure the security of our Druze allies in Jabal al-Druze,” stated the Israeli leader in a recording on X.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced in August that there had been progress in the ongoing negotiations for renewed security understandings with Jerusalem based on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
While the president told reporters that he does not view the current circumstances as favorable for concluding a peace agreement, he said he would “not hesitate” to do so if he becomes convinced that this would benefit Syria and the broader region.
