Israeli defence minister says troops 'not moving'

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz delivered a message to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday during a visit to Israeli soldiers occupying southern Syria, vowing that troops would not withdraw from the territory.

"We are here sending a very strong and clear message to the President of Syria, who sits 35km away down there in his palace in Damascus: we are here on Mount Hermon, we are in the security zone, and we are not moving from here," Katz said during the visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Reporting by AFP