Israel attacks military targets in Syria
The Israeli army has struck military targets in Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in an effort to prevent military assets from falling into the hands of extremist groups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he wants to establish “relations” with the new regime in Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, but he warned that Israel will not hesitate to attack the Middle Eastern nation if it poses a threat.
“We want relations with the new regime in Syria,” Netanyahu said in a live speech. “But if this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or other weapons to Hezbollah or (if it) attacks us, we will respond strongly. And we will demand a high price. .
“What happened to the previous regime will also happen to this regime.”
People pick up metal and unexploded ordnance from the site of the previous evening’s Israeli airstrike that targeted weapons shipments belonging to Syrian government forces in Qamishli in mainly Kurdish northeastern Syria, December 10, 2024. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
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It remains unclear who exactly will take over of Syria or what that government will look like now that the rebels have taken control of Damascus.
On Monday night, Israel launched massive attacks on Syrian military targets, including two Syrian naval sites, the port of Al-Bayda and the port of Latakia, where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
“Manned aircraft flew over Syrian airspace for hundreds of hours and, together with fighter jets, carried out more than 350 air strikes,” the IDF reported.
Israel said a “wide range of targets were hit,” including anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields and dozens of weapons depots in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyr, which housed advanced weapons such as ballistic and cruise missiles, UAVs, fighter jets and fighter planes. fighter jets, attack helicopters and tanks.
A man walks past a burned-out vehicle with destroyed ammunition at the site of the previous evening’s Israeli airstrike that targeted weapons shipments belonging to Syrian government forces in Qamishli in mainly Kurdish northeastern Syria, December 10, 2024. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
Netanyahu appeared to argue that the attacks were similar to actions taken by Britain during World War II when it bombarded a French fleet in the Algerian port of Mers-el-Kébir to prevent the ships from falling into Nazi hands.
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It is unclear whether there were any casualties in Israel’s overnight attacks, although the United Nations on Tuesday condemned the attacks as well as the Israeli military invasion outside the Golan Heights. in a demilitarized buffer zone.
“We continue to see Israeli movements and bombardments on Syrian territory. This must stop,” UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said calls the developments in Israel ‘disturbing’.
“This is extremely important,” he added. “We must ensure an end to Israeli attacks, and we must ensure that the conflict in the northeast ends. And we must ensure that conflicts do not arise between the different armed groups.”
Israel drew some international criticism after sending a military contingent this week beyond the Golan Heights, a disputed territory that Jerusalem seized in 1967 and that is still internationally recognized as part of Syria, although the US recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the area .
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Israeli soldiers operate in a location referred to as southern Syria in this image from a video obtained by Reuters on December 9, 2024. (Israeli Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
“We are against these types of attacks. I think this is a turning point for Syria. It must not be used by its neighbors to invade the territory of Syria,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric reportedly said on Tuesday.
In his speech, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s position, saying: “We have no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, but we clearly intend to do what is necessary to guarantee our security.”
