Israel SitRep: December 18, 2024

Today’s Issue: | Prime Minister Netanyahu Instructs IDF to Remain in Syrian Mount Hermon Until Late 2025 | Report: Syrian Golan Heights Villagers, Syrian Rebels Handing Weapons to IDF, Including Grenades With Chemical Agents | IDF Soldiers Demolish Hezbollah Command Center and Tunnel Used for Attacks Against Israel | COGAT: 254 Aid Trucks Entered Gaza Tuesday, Nine Ambulances for Gaza Patients Entered Monday | Latest FDD Analysis  

Prime Minister Netanyahu Instructs IDF to Remain in Syrian Mount Hermon Until Late 2025: Israel’s Channel 12 reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the IDF to remain in the Syrian part of Mount Hermon, where Israeli troops have been stationed since the fall of the Assad regime, until at least the end of 2025. The report states that this date was chosen because of Israel’s assessment that the political and security situation in Syria will have stabilized by then, and it will be clear if Syria will honor the 1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria and prevent terrorism against Israel. The report states that this decision has tremendous significance since it means that the army is now facing a new front, in addition to Lebanon and Gaza. In a visit yesterday to the area, Netanyahu stated: “We will remain in this important place until another arrangement is found to ensure Israel’s security,” adding: “I was here 53 years ago with my soldiers in Sayeret Matkal — the place has not changed, it’s the same place, but it has become all the more important for Israel’s security in recent years, and especially in recent weeks.”

Report: Syrian Golan Heights Villagers, Syrian Rebels Handing Weapons to IDF, Including Grenades With Chemical Agents: Israel’s Channel 12 reported earlier this week that Syrian rebels and residents of villages in the Syrian Golan Heights have handed over hundreds of boxes with bombs, mortars, ammunition, grenades, and other types of weapons to Israeli security forces, who are continuing to operate in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. Soldiers on the scene say they found “weapons filled with chemical agents,” adding that they are seeing boxes filled with cheap grenades containing the agents. Since the start of the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago, recently deposed Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, who have now taken control of Assad’s stockpiles and are handing them over to the IDF for transfer to Israel.

IDF Soldiers Demolish Hezbollah Command Center and Tunnel Used for Attacks Against Israel: The IDF published a report Wednesday stating that during operations by combat engineers, soldiers discovered a tunnel that led to a Hezbollah command center from which the group directed rocket launches and attacks at Israeli communities in the Galilee. In the tunnel, which was dozens of meters long, troops found surveillance equipment, weapons, and other military equipment used by Hezbollah for directing terrorist activity in the area. The soldiers found several weapons depots near the command center, one in a mosque, which contained rifles, grenades, hundreds of explosive devices, and additional military equipment. After conducting searches, engineering troops demolished the command center and the tunnel and seized weapons. The report includes footage of weapons found in the area as well as footage of the demolition of the command center and the tunnel.

COGAT: 254 Aid Trucks Entered Gaza Tuesday, Nine Ambulances for Gaza Patients Entered Monday: On Wednesday, COGAT, the Israeli entity coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza, published its aid update for Tuesday, noting that 133 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday through the Kerem Shalom crossing, 67 through the Erez crossing, and 65 through Route 96. International organizations picked up the contents of 63 trucks from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, leaving some 750 truckloads still awaiting collection. Four gas tankers and two fuel tankers also entered Gaza. Yesterday, COGAT announced that on Monday, nine ambulances entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom “to ensure the continued provision of medical care” to people in Gaza and “facilitate the transfer of patients to operational hospitals within the region.” The announcement adds that since the war began, COGAT has facilitated the entry of more than 130 ambulances to Gaza, donated by organizations and countries.

Latest FDD Analysis:

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Jonathan Schanzer and Joe Gebeily, FDD Event

Today at 10:00am (ET): “American Confidence in Elections: Prohibiting Foreign Interference,” Bradley Bowman and Max Lesser, Testimony for House Committee on House Administration

“Tehran eyes influence in Syria with plans to reopen Damascus embassy,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Al-Hol camp is a test for future of Syria,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“New Syrian transitional government meets with European, UN officials,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Why are the Houthis attacking Israel – and can they be deterred?” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Night raid: Watching female IDF soldiers detain terror suspects in Bethlehem,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Egypt Revises School Textbooks to Expunge Antisemitic Content,” Mariam Wahba, FDD Policy Brief

“A new window into the Assad regime’s narcotrafficking operations,” Natalie Ecanow and Ahmad Sharawi, FDD’s Long War Journal

“US military strikes Islamic State camps and personnel in central Syria,” Bill Roggio, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel’s Bashan Arrow operation in Syria continues,” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“‘The Factions Will be Dissolved’: Jolani Pushes to Disband Rebel and Pro-Assad Armed Groups in Syria,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Charges Two Men Tied to Iran-Backed Drone Attack on American Forces in Jordan,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief