Mount Hermon to reopen to Israeli visitors after being closed since October 2023

Mount Hermon will reopen to Israeli visitors after being closed since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Since Oct. 7, the Israeli army designated the site as a closed military zone. The site is expected to reopen to visitors on March 4.

Skiing will be prohibited, due to infrastructure damage caused by direct hits during the war, the Israeli newspaper added. 

On Sunday, the Home Front Command of the Israeli army announced the lifting of all restrictions imposed on communities located on Israel's northern border, allowing displaced Israelis from the border area to begin returning to their homes from March 2.

The inhabitants of northern Israel had not been allowed to return home since October 2023, following the opening of the "support front" by Hezbollah one day after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, effective from Nov. 27, 2024, after 13 months of conflict, aims, according to its terms, to "allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to safely return to their lands and homes."

Mount Hermon is part of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range and serves as a natural border between Lebanon and Syria with a portion of it located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli army had deployed on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in the Golan, a few hours after the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024. On Jan. 29, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the Israeli army would remain "at the top of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period to ensure the safety of the Golan Heights settlements, the north, and all citizens of the State of Israel."