Israel
Israel Briefing Day 523: Israel announces long-term IDF presence in Syria amid rising tensions
Plus, half of Israelis think Trump cares more about hostages than Netanyahu
March 12, 2025 08:54
By, In Israel
3 min read
Plus, half of Israelis think Trump cares more about hostages than Netanyahu
March 12, 2025 08:54ByNathan Jeffay, In Israel
This story first appeared as today’s Israel briefing newsletter. You can sign up to receive it daily here.
In a surprising move, Israel’s Defence Minister has declared that the IDF will keep positions in Syria long-term. Israel set up military posts in the aftermath of the regime change, in what was expected to be a temporary measure. But in recent weeks, Israel has become alarmed by what it sees as the hard-line Islamist stances of the new leadership in Damascus.
“Israel has made it clear that its presence in Syrian Hermon is long-term and not bound by a timetable,” Israel Katz, Minister of Defence said yesterday on the border. Jerusalem has been ramping up criticism of the Syrian leader, especially following reports over the weekend that his regime killed hundreds of fellow Syrians. Katz reportedly said that “every morning when [Syrian leader] al-Jolani [Ahmed al-Sharaa] opens his eyes at the presidential palace in Damascus, he will see the IDF watching him from the peak of the Hermon.”
Israel and Lebanon have started talks to settle frictions over the continued presence of IDF soldiers in Lebanese territory. Israel was expected to withdraw from Lebanon under the terms of its ceasefire with Hezbollah in November. But the IDF remains stationed at five locations, citing concerns that the Lebanese army cannot keep Hezbollah out of the areas as required by the ceasefire deal. The Prime Minister’s Office announced that IDF representatives met envoys from the US, France, and Lebanon in Naqoura, Lebanon.
“The five points under IDF control in southern Lebanon, discussions on the Blue Line and points still in dispute, and the issue of Lebanese detainees being held by Israel,” it stated, adding that “as a gesture to the new President of Lebanon, Israel has agreed to release five Lebanese detainees.”
One in two Israelis thinks that America’s leader cares more about returning hostages than their own prime minister. In a poll by Channel 13, 50 per cent of Israelis said that US President Donald Trump cares more about securing the release of Israeli hostages than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and only 29 per cent think Netanyahu is more concerned. The poll also showed that former prime minister Naftali Bennett now has the edge over Netanyahu in popularity. The public prefers him by eight percentage points, with 46 per cent preferring him as prime minister over Netanyahu’s 38 per cent.
Israel has deployed minuscule spy devices across Gaza to gather intelligence on hostages and for possible military operations, according to the London-based Arabic news source Asharq Al-Awsat. Some devices are reportedly as small as worms. The report says that the devices, dropped by “quadcopters,” include cameras and eavesdropping tools hidden in bags and scattered in remote or densely populated areas. Sources were cited saying that they are being placed in cemeteries, open fields, and deep inside Gaza’s urban centres.
Yemen’s Houthis say they will restart attacks on Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. They say the move is a response to Israel’s recent decision to block aid to Gaza to pressure Hamas to close a deal to free more hostages. The Iran-backed group had warned it would act if the flow of aid does not restart within four days.
A recently freed hostage has revealed that whenever negotiations hit a hurdle, his captors would ratchet up their mistreatment against him. “Every deal that fell through would bring up a lot of frustration, rage, and anger,” Omer Wenkert told Channel 12 regarding his captors’ reactions. “Not to mention when one of their fathers was killed, or their families, or when their senior officials were assassinated. You feel it. You know exactly what happened.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suing former defence minister Moshe Ya’alon for comments alleging that the PM received millions of dollars from Qatar. In a video statement about his plans, Netanyahu called the accusations a “despicable lie” and declared, “I didn’t receive anything from Qatar, but I will receive from Bogie.”
In a separate development, an ongoing police investigation into suspected ties between members of Netanyahu’s office and Qatar has been subjected to a gag order. This investigation was opened after claims that two of Netanyahu’s advisers ran a PR campaign to improve Qatar’s global image.
President Isaac Herzog pledged that northern Israel, heavily damaged in the conflict with Hezbollah, will be fully rebuilt. He said: “I have no doubt that the north will once again flourish and prosper.” He also stated: “We pledge to do everything to continue to repay the supreme moral, Israeli and human debt."
A Palestinian man stole a vehicle and rammed it into a checkpoint outside the Tzrifin IDF base, wounding an IDF soldier. The soldier is in light condition. After hitting the checkpoint, the attacker drove around inside the base. He then fled to Ramle, where police arrested him.
In the West Bank yesterday, Palestinian media and Israeli activists reported that settler extremists attacked Palestinian residents in the village of Hraibat a-Nabi.