"The main goal is to overthrow the terrorist regime in Iran. We are very close to that," Netanyahu said in a video recording.
Accompanying him on the trip was right-wing politician and Defence Minister Israel Katz:
We are sending a strong message to the president of Syria, who is sitting 35 kilometres away in his palace in Damascus. We are here on Mount Hermon, in a safe zone, and we are not moving.
Syria's Foreign Ministry responded sharply to the incursion into Syrian territory, which "was provocative and a gross violation of sovereignty."
Israel has maintained a military presence in the so-called safe zone since Syria's former dictator was overthrown in 2024, an area previously guarded by UN forces.
