Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a field visit to the Israeli-seized buffer zone in Syria, as reported by local media. The visit was part of a tour involving senior army officials.

According to Anadolu Agency, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Defense Minister Israel Katz, Army Chief Eyal Zamir, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accompanied Netanyahu on this visit. The trip occurred hours after Netanyahu's trial session on corruption charges was cancelled upon his request due to 'a security matter'.

There has been no immediate response from Syrian authorities regarding the visit. Following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by taking control of the demilitarized buffer zone, contravening the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.

In a separate development, the Israeli army, in a joint statement with Shin Bet and police, announced the detention of several Israelis and Syrians on Wednesday. They were alleged to have attempted to smuggle weapons across the Syrian border into a criminal network inside Israel. Among the detainees were five Israeli soldiers, both regular and reserve, who reportedly transported weapons from Syria to a smuggling network in northern Israel multiple times.

The statement also noted that Israeli forces discovered dozens of weapons in a similar operation last month and detained three Syrians on suspicion of involvement in arms smuggling in southern Syria. There has been no immediate comment from Syrian authorities on this report either.

Israeli incursions into southern Syria have intensified recently, with locals expressing concerns over advances into farmland, destruction of forests, arrests, and the establishment of military checkpoints. Since December 2024, the Israeli army has conducted over 1,000 airstrikes on Syria and more than 400 cross-border raids into the southern provinces, as per government data.