JERUSALEM, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Sunday that it completed another raid in Syria's Mount Hermon, destroying weapons stockpiles belonging to the Syrian army.
"In recent weeks, the troops of the 810th Brigade completed a brigade-level operation in the Syrian Hermon area," the military said in a statement, adding that forces raided "key terrain points."
According to the statement, the troops located and destroyed "stockpiles of weapons and intelligence assets," including mines, explosives, anti-tank missiles, rockets, and launchers.
The military said the raid aimed to "strengthen the defense of Israel's citizens," particularly those living on the Israeli-occupied side of the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel has since established more than 30 settlements in the area and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognized by most of the international community.
Following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government, Israel moved forces into the United Nations-monitored buffer zone, seizing parts of the Syrian Golan Heights, including Mount Hermon. ■
