Syria condemns Israel Katz visit as illegal

Syria condemned as illegal Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's visit to troops in southern Syria on Tuesday, after Katz said Israeli forces would remain there as long as Israel considered there to be threats to its security.

Katz made a rare visit to Israeli troops in southern Syria. In a video statement from his office, he said Israeli forces were carrying out daily activity “to thwart threats” and prevent what he called dangerous consolidation by Syria's new authorities.

“As long as there are threats, the IDF will remain here to guarantee our security,” Katz said.

Syria's foreign ministry called the visit a “flagrant violation” of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It urged the international community to take measures to force Israel to halt what it called repeated violations.

Israeli forces have been stationed in a “security zone” in southern Syria since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. They occupy what had been a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan since 1974.

The visit came a week after Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur base in northwestern Syria. Israel said it wanted to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there, while Ankara denied any visit to the site.

During Tuesday's visit, Katz said Israel had “acted against a Turkish attempt to entrench itself in Syria, at the risk of Israel's security interests”.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since Assad's fall and has made repeated incursions into Syrian territory. Israeli officials have repeatedly vowed to keep troops in the security zone, where Israel is seeking a broader demilitarised area.