Katz issues instructions to the Israeli army; what are they?
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After the occupation of Mount Hermon and other strategic locations in Syria, Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz issues directives to the Israeli occupation army.
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Then-Israeli Transportation Minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in occupied al-Quds, on February 17, 2019. (AP)
After the occupation of Mount Hermon and other strategic locations in Syria, Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz directed the Israeli military on Sunday night to take immediate action to establish full control over the buffer zone in Syria and key control points. This came after Israeli operations continued overnight to secure additional positions.
Katz instructed the military to establish a security zone in the southern region, outside the buffer zone, free from heavy strategic weapons and the "terrorist infrastructure" that could pose a threat to "Israel". He also emphasized the importance of building relationships with the Druze population in the area, as well as other local communities.
He ordered immediate action "to prevent and thwart the resumption of the arms smuggling route from Iran to Lebanon through Syria, in the Syrian region and at border crossing points, and to continue to work to destroy heavy strategic weapons throughout Syria, including surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range missiles, and coast-to-sea missiles."
The Israeli occupation launched the most intensive raids on Syria since the October 1973 war, according to what Israeli media reported from sources in the air force.
According to Israeli Channel 13, Israeli aircraft attacked about 100 targets in Syria in the past hours.
On Sunday, the Israeli military occupied Syria’s Mount Hermon with Israeli occupation forces advancing several kilometers into the Syrian Golan, Israeli media reported.
The media said Israeli forces took control of the highest point in the Hermon Mountain inside Syrian territory, pointing out that this point lies within the buffer zone and is under the responsibility of the United Nations.
A UN base that oversees the Golan Heights within Syrian territory sits on the summit, according to the report.
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