Netanyahu appears at Syria's Mount Hermon heights, claims Iran's regional axis has collapsed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in the Mount Hermon heights area inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 (18 Shahrivar 1405) and claimed Israel controls the entire area from Mount Hermon to the Yarmouk River, saying he would not allow any army to dominate the borders of the occupied Palestinian territories. According to Iran's IRNA news agency, citing Lebanon's Al Nahar newspaper, he went on to say that the Iran axis in the region has finally collapsed. Since the fall of Bashar al Assad's government in Syria at the end of 2024, Israel's military has taken advantage of the resulting security vacuum to occupy parts of southern Syria, including the Quneitra area and the Mount Hermon heights. Separately, former Israeli prime minister and current leadership candidate Naftali Bennett criticized Netanyahu, accusing him of trying to clear himself of responsibility for the October 7, 2023 security failure.