On Tuesday (December 10), Israel carried out airstrikes on Syrian military bases, stating that the action was aimed at preventing weapons from falling into the hands of hostile forces, but denied that its forces had crossed the buffer zone border into Syria.
Local security sources and former Syrian military officials described the airstrikes on Tuesday morning as the most intense to date, targeting military facilities and air force bases across Syria, destroying dozens of helicopters and fighter jets, as well as Republican Guard assets in Damascus and its surroundings.
Sources indicated that a rough estimate showed that the 200 nighttime attacks almost destroyed all of the Syrian army’s assets.
Israel stated that its airstrikes would continue for several days, but informed the United Nations Security Council that it did not interfere in Syria’s conflicts. Israel claimed to have taken “limited and temporary measures” solely to protect its own security.
Since the weekend, Israeli warplanes have been targeting some government objectives in Syria to ensure that Syria’s military equipment, including fighter jets, missiles, and chemical weapons, do not fall into the hands of anti-government armed groups.
Israel welcomes the downfall of Assad, a key ally of its main enemy Iran, but has a more cautious reaction towards the main rebel faction, the “Free Sham Front,” as the group has connections to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Monday that after Assad’s downfall, Israel will use all means to ensure its security.
Israel denies that its military crossed the buffer zone in the Golan Heights into Syrian territory. Earlier Syrian sources had claimed that Israeli forces entered an area 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the capital of Damascus.
After the Assad regime fell in Syria, Israeli forces entered the buffer zone established after the 1973 Middle East War.
Israeli special forces seized an abandoned outpost on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. Israeli officials stated that this was a limited and temporary measure to ensure border security. Mount Hermon is a strategic site that overlooks the Syrian capital of Damascus.
A Syrian security source claimed that Israeli forces had reached a town southwest of Damascus on the non-military side, but Israeli military officials denied this.
In a statement, an Israeli military spokesperson said, “Reports in the media about Israeli tanks advancing towards Damascus are false. The Israeli Defense Forces are stationed within the buffer zone, as previously stated.”
Israel indicated that a ceasefire had been reached with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after weeks of fighting and was not seeking conflict with the new powers controlling Damascus.
(This article is based on reports from Reuters)