Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced On Tuesday, they announced that an airstrike on Damascus had succeeded in eliminating Salman Nemer Jama'a, Hezbollah's top envoy to Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime.
Israeli military activity continues in a turbulent week in Syria after al-Qaeda-linked jihadist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) invaded and apparently overran Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo. This is what follows. In response to the apparent surprise attack by HTS, the Assad regime, with support from its Russian ally, launched a series of airstrikes against jihadist targets.
At the same time, a conflict between the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), which has continued to control parts of Syrian Kurdistan during the 10-year lull in Syria's civil war, and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). Clashes began to break out. ), rose from the remnants of the Free Syrian Army.
Jamaa's elimination began after Hezbollah's key ally, fellow Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas, invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, slaughtering an estimated 1,200 people and taking dozens of prisoners. It is the latest development in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. Until today. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a tenuous ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon last week, which had not yet fully collapsed at press time, although Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Monday.
In a statement shared with reporters, the IDF said the Israeli Air Force (IAF) “carried out an intelligence-based attack in Damascus” and eliminated a jammer it described as “senior Hezbollah terrorists.” .
“The Syrian regime actively supports Hezbollah and enables arms smuggling into Lebanon, thereby endangering Syrian and Lebanese civilians. Jamaa was a key figure in Hezbollah supporting these operations. ” the IDF said in a statement. “As part of his role, Mr. Jamaa was responsible for coordinating between Hezbollah operatives and the Syrian military, including during the 'Iron Sword' War, which included assisting in arms smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah.”
The Israel Defense Forces declared that removing Jama'a from the battlefield would “reduce both Hezbollah's presence in Syria and Hezbollah's continued force buildup efforts.”
The airstrikes are part of an ongoing campaign by Israel to eliminate the leadership of the Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, which, like Hamas, relies heavily on Iranian support. Israel has been responsible for various military operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah leaders, including the attack that killed Hassan Nasrallah, the terrorist group's leader for decades. Israel is also believed to be involved in a large-scale operation in September in which pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic equipment exploded simultaneously, injuring and killing hundreds of suspected Hezbollah terrorists. , the Israeli government has not taken responsibility for this incident.
The Damascus airstrike is not unprecedented, but it comes at a time of escalating hostilities in Syria. In April, the Israel Defense Forces took responsibility for an airstrike that killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander. The Revolutionary Guards are the official arm of Iran's military and a US-designated terrorist organization. In response to the airstrikes, Iran launched an unprecedented air campaign against Israel, launching hundreds of projectiles, including missiles and drones, into the country. The IDF said after the attack that it was a success. intercepted 99% of them.
The Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, of which Mr. Zahedi was a member, serves as a coordinating force for Iran's terrorist activities abroad. In addition to Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran funds and supports the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, terrorists in Yemen, the Houthis, Islamic Jihad in Palestine, and multiple jihadist militias in Iraq. As a result, Iran will be involved in the development of the situation in Syria between the Assad regime and HTS.
Iranian officials have responded to the resurgence of the dormant civil war by blaming Israel and the United States, alleging some connection between Washington and Jerusalem and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists fighting Assad. did.
“All Islamic and other countries in the region should consider the recent developments. [in Syria] This was the work of a common enemy of security and instability: the Zionist regime,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai declared on Monday.
Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naini, a senior terrorist in the Revolutionary Guards, similarly claimed that the terrorists were “mercenaries of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the United States, and the reformed remnants of Daesh.” [the Islamic State] others Takfiri [infidel, typically meaning Sunni when used by Iran] costume. ” He offered no evidence for this claim.
According to Iranian propaganda outlets, Foreign Minister Abbas Aragushi himself said at an event on Tuesday that Israel and the United States were responsible for the “intensification of terrorist activities in northern Syria,” without elaborating. press tv.
