Israeli warplanes late Tuesday struck military sites in southern Syria, the Israel Defense Forces said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to demilitarize the border region.

Israel on Sunday said it will not tolerate presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in southern Syria, nor any other forces affiliated with the country's new rulers, and demanded the territory be demilitarized.

Israel won’t allow forces of the new Syrian administration to enter territory south of Damascus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, lifting the veil on Israel’s long-term plans for its northern neighbor after the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria’s new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to “enter the area south of Damascus” as his government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not allow forces of the new Syrian army to enter areas south of Damascus. “We demand the full demilitarization of southern Syria,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the complete demilitarisation of much of southern Syria. It is an announcement that could make conflict between Israel and the new leadership in Syria,

Thousands of Syrians rallied across the country to protest Israeli PM Netanyahu’s call for demilitarizing southern Syria, decrying his interference in Syrian sovereignty amid escalating Israeli airstrikes [Damascus] – In a display of national unity,

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes in southern Syria on February 25 after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said that southern Syria must be a demilitarized zone.

Katz said Israeli forces will be deployed in southern Syria indefinitely in order to reinforce defensive and offensive capabilities against any threats to Israel. Israel sent troops into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the Turkish-backed Islamist rebels toppled the government of [former] President Bashar al-Assad late last year.

In an address Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Syria’s new rulers should demilitarize the Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda provinces.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the new regime in Damascus on Saturday evening that if it harms the Druze community in Syria, Israel will retaliate. “We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze.