Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the creation of a "sterile security zone" in southern Syria without permanent Israeli presence, Israeli media reported on December 10.
"Together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I have instructed the Israel Defence Forces to establish a sterile security zone, free from weapons and terrorist threats, in southern Syria without permanent Israeli presence," Katz said during a visit to an Israeli naval base in Haifa, according to N14 television channel.
The defence minister added that Israeli forces are completing the deployment of units in the buffer zone along the Syrian border and controlled areas to protect residents of the Golan Heights and Israeli citizens.
Earlier, Katz warned Syria's new authorities that "those who follow Assad's path will ultimately end up like Assad," emphasising Israel's readiness to eliminate any threats to its security.
The Golan Heights, which belonged to Syria since 1944, was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel's parliament unilaterally declared sovereignty over the territory in 1981; a move declared invalid by UN Security Council Resolution 497.
Geir Otto Pedersen, United Nations special envoy for Syria, the UN's special envoy for Syria, called on Israel to end its ground operations and bombing raids in Syria, calling them "very troubling."
"We are continuing to see Israeli movement and bombardments into Syria," he said in Geneva on December 10. "This needs to stop. This is extremely important."
Israel hit more than 100 targets in the span of 12 hours alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported.
The targets reportedly include a chemical weapons factory, airports, airfields and naval yards in Tartus. Israel has not hit Russian assets in the country.
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family after accepting the Kremlin's offer of asylum, Russian state news agency TASS reported on December 8.