Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Thursday morning published a statement clarifying the reason for the IDF's presence in Syria and stressing that it is temporary.
"The collapse of the Syrian regime created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone established by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement," the statement explained. "Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks."
"That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border."
The statement emphasized, "This deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed."
Earlier this week, the IDF announced that it has struck 320 “strategic targets” in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime over the weekend. The operation is meant to destroy much of Syria's arsenal to prevent it from falling into the hands of Islamist and terrorist forces.
Over 350 fighter jets took part in the operation, which has been given the name "Bashan Arrow." As much as 70 to 80 percent of the Assad regime's military capabilities have been destroyed.
The IDF attacked 320 targets from Damascus to Tartus, including advanced tanks, aircraft, helicopters, air defense systems, missile ships, rockets, weapons production sites, weapons depots, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coastal missiles, drones, and more.
Activities in Syria are still continuing on the ground, with IDF ground forces operating in the buffer zone along the Golan Heights.