Turning the page: Why peace with Syria and Lebanon matters now

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday there has been progress on a security deal with Syria but an agreement was not imminent.

Speaking at the outset of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said victory against Hezbollah in Lebanon had opened up the possibility of peace with Israel's northern neighbours.

"We are holding talks with the Syrians, there is some progress, but there was still a ways to go," he said. "In any case these discussions, as well as the contacts with Lebanon, would not have been possible without our decisive victories on the northern front and others."

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results "in the coming days."

He said a security pact was a "necessity" and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.

Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.