The Israeli army has set up at least seven new military outposts in southern Syria, satellite imagery published by Haaretz newspaper on 18 February has revealed.
The new military sites were established in Mount Hermon, Hader, Jubata al-Khashab, Al-Hamidiyah, Quneitra, Al-Qahtaniyah, and Tel Kudna. They aim to serve as "operational hubs for troops" in Syria as part of a reorganization of the Israeli presence in the south of the country, Haaretz said.
The sites include living quarters, command centers, clinics, bathrooms, and showers. Israeli occupation forces swept across southern Syria after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s government in December last year, moving past the demilitarized zone and expanding their decades-long illegal occupation in the country.
Facing "harsh" and "uninhabitable" conditions, Tel Aviv’s forces began setting up infrastructure to allow for a prolonged stay, the newspaper adds.
Earlier this month, Israeli Army Radio reported that occupation forces have discreetly established a security zone within Syrian territory, with nine permanent sites already under advanced construction.
Three army brigades currently operate on Syrian territory, an increase from the one-and-a-half battalions stationed in the occupied Golan Heights before 7 October 2023, the army radio added.
Invading forces have recently seized precious water sources such as the Al-Wahda Dam on the Yarmouk River Basin and others.
Hundreds of Israeli airstrikes have also destroyed former Syrian army air and naval bases, as well as aircraft, air defense systems, and missile stores.
"The IDF will remain at the summit of the Hermon and the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the north, and all the residents of Israel," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said late last month during a visit to the occupied Syrian territory.
"We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria ... we will act against any threat," he added.