Cairo, Dec 9 (IANS): Egypt on Monday strongly condemned Israel's seizing control of the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights and other neighbouring leading positions.

The Israeli move constitutes "an occupation of Syrian land and a blatant violation of its sovereignty," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the move is also a clear violation of the Agreement on Disengagement signed in 1974 between Israel and Syria.

The Israeli practices violate international law, the unity and safety of the Syrian land, the statement said, describing the Israeli action as "exploitation of the state of vacuum in Syria to occupy more Syrian land."

Egypt called on the UN Security Council and international forces to assume their responsibilities and take a firm stance against the Israeli attacks on Syria in a way that guarantees its sovereignty over all its territories.

The Israeli army has seized control of areas near the Israel-Syria border and struck strategic weapons in Syria as of Monday, according to Syrian and Israeli sources, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a video statement released by his office on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to take control of the positions temporarily to ensure they would not fall into the hands of the militant groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose sweeping offensive across Syria since Nov. 27 resulted in the rapid fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government on Sunday.

Netanyahu claimed in the video that the UN-monitored 1974 agreement had "collapsed."