Defense Minister Gallant visits Syrian border amid continued threats to northern Israel

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Israel-Syria border on Sunday, where he was briefed on Iran and Hezbollah’s continued efforts to establish a presence throughout Syria.

Gallant was accompanied by Brig.-Gen. Zion Retzon, the commander of Division 210, and other senior officers. The comprehensive situational assessment along the border included an inspection of the Ramim Ridge area in the Naftali Mountains in the Upper Galilee, as well as a meeting with reserve officers deployed there.

“I patrolled the Golan Heights sector this morning, and together with the division commander, I witnessed the exceptional readiness of IDF forces in the eastern sector,” Gallant said.

“We are actively preventing the establishment of Hezbollah and Iranian forces attempting to reach the border of the Golan Heights. We maintain full freedom of action to strike at any target or enemy that poses a threat to us.”

Gallant also noted the IDF's commitment to safeguarding residents in northern Israel from the threat of attacks by Hezbollah.

“To achieve this goal, we are intensifying our intelligence gathering, enhancing force deployment, and conducting rigorous training to respond swiftly and effectively to any challenges,” he said.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the epicenter of the war has been in the Gaza Strip in the south. However, beginning on Oct. 8, the Iranian-backed, Shiite militia, Hezbollah, has attacked northern Israel with drones, missiles and rockets on an almost daily basis. Hezbollah has much greater firepower than Hamas, making the Lebanese terror group a significantly more serious security threat to Israel.

Following the Hamas invasion and massacre of over 1,200 Israelis, the IDF feared that Hezbollah would launch a similar attack on northern Israel's border. Security experts noted that the Hamas invasion was virtually taken from Hezbollah’s playbook and, therefore, authorities quickly evacuated most residents from communities close to the Lebanese border.

Northern Israeli cities, such as Kiryat Shmona, have become ghost towns. After more than six months of war, roughly 80,000 Israelis are still living out of suitcases without knowing when they will be able to return to their homes.

In December, security researchers from the Alma Research and Education Center warned that Hezbollah’s Elite Radwan Commando Unit was prepared to invade northern Israel as soon as it was given the order to do so.

“The Radwan unit is fully trained and capable of launching an incursion into the Galilee at any given moment,” the Alma researchers assessed. “Even if the majority of Hezbollah’s elite forces have distanced themselves from the border, there is no change to Hezbollah’s overall readiness.”

Since then, the Israeli military has deployed large forces to secure Israel's northern borders. Despite these measures, the threat to northern Israel remains significant due to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and various Iranian-backed terror militias in neighboring Syria.