Israeli Airstrikes Pound Syria, Destroy 80% Military Assets In ‘Historic’ Campaign

Last Updated:December 11, 2024, 07:45 IST

Israel launched a 48-hour campaign in Syria, destroying most of Assad’s military assets to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile elements.

Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad’s government fell to rebel forces earlier this week, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into the country in a bid to prevent military assets from falling into the hands of “terrorists”.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in a statement said that following its 48-hour campaign, it had struck a wide range of targets, including anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields, and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs and other cities.

The IDF conducted over 350 aerial strikes, striking 130 ground assets in Syria, including weapons depots, military structures, launchers, and firing positions. The Israeli Navy also struck two Syrian Navy facilities where 15 naval vessels were docked and destroyed dozens of sea-to-sea missiles.

The military estimated that it had destroyed 70-80 per cent of the former Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile elements, as rebel forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, toppled Assad’s government after 13 years of a gruelling civil war in the country.

Israel acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following the ouster of President Assad, though it was unclear if its soldiers had gone beyond that area. Israel denied it is advancing on the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said they intended to establish a demilitarised zone in southern Syria.

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‘If Syria’s New Regime Allows Iran…’: Netanyahu’s Stark Warning

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel carried out more than 300 airstrikes across Syria since the rebels overthrew Assad. The Observatory said Israeli troops were advancing up the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon and had come within 25 kilometres of Damascus, which the Israeli military denied.

Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law. Turkey, which backed Syrian opposition forces against Assad, also condemned Israel for “displaying a mentality of an occupier”.

Notably, the Assad regime was an ally of Iran’s so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’ against Israel and the United States. As such, Syria was used as a pathway for Iranian weapons for several years, to militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel feared that the Syrian Army’s weapons could fall into the hands of hostile forces in the country following the collapse of the Assad government, as well as the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israeli forces moved into a roughly 400-square-kilometre buffer zone inside Syria that was established after the 1973 Mideast war, a move it said was taken to prevent attacks on its citizens.

In a message to Syria’s new regime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning, saying it wants to establish relations but won’t hesitate to attack if it threatens the Jewish state. “We have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Syria. However, we do intend to do what is necessary to ensure our security.”

“We want to have relations with the new regime in Syria, but if this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us, we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it,” he added.

Syria Names New Head Of Govt As Life Returns To Normal

Meanwhile, the rebels in power in Damascus named Mohammed al-Bashir as the head of the transitional government. The transitional government will be in place until March 1, according to the local media.

“The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1,” a statement attributed to Bashir was said on state television’s Telegram account, which referred to him as the “new Syrian prime minister”.

Meanwhile, life in the capital is now returning to normalcy following Assad’s collapse as private banks reopened while shops also reopened in the city’s ancient Hamidiyeh market, where armed men and civilians could be seen buying perfume and ice cream.

With the takeover of Damascus on December 8, the 13-year-long civil war in the country came to an end along with the culmination of more than 50 years of the Assad family’s brutal rule.

(with inputs from agencies)

Location :

Damascus, Syria