Israel attacks military targets in Syria
The Israel Defense Forces has attacked military targets in Syria to prevent military capabilities from falling into the hands of extremists after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he wanted to build “relationships” with Syria's new regime after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, but Israel is hesitant if the Middle Eastern country poses a threat. He warned them that they would attack without hesitation.
“We want a relationship with the new Syrian regime,” Netanyahu said in a live address. “But if this regime allows Iran to establish itself in Syria or transfers Iranian weapons and other weapons to Hezbollah and [if it] attack[s] We will do our best to respond accordingly. And we will be charging a high price.
“What happened to the previous administration will happen to this administration.”
People pick up metal and unexploded ordnance from the site of an Israeli airstrike the night before that targeted a Syrian government military arms shipment in Qamishli, a predominantly Kurdish northeastern region of Syria, on December 10, 2024. (Deir Suleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
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Now that rebels have taken control of Damascus, it remains unclear who will take over leadership of Syria and what the Syrian government will look like.
On Monday night, Israel launched a major offensive against military targets in Syria, including two Syrian naval facilities, the port of Al Bayda and the port of Latakia, where 15 Syrian naval vessels are anchored, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. ) confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
The Israel Defense Forces reported that “manned aircraft have flown hundreds of hours over Syrian airspace and carried out more than 350 airstrikes alongside fighter jets.”
Israel has built anti-aircraft batteries, airfields for the Syrian Air Force, and dozens of former weapons depots in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmir that housed advanced weapons such as ballistic and cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and fighter jets. “A wide range of targets were attacked,” he said. Jet planes, attack helicopters, tanks.
A burnt-out vehicle carrying destroyed ammunition at the scene of an Israeli airstrike the night before that targeted a Syrian government arms shipment in Qamishli, a predominantly Kurdish northeastern region of Syria, on December 10, 2024. A man passing by. (Deir Suleiman/AFP via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was similar to the British bombing of the French fleet in the Algerian port of Mers el-Kebir during World War II to prevent the ships from falling into Nazi hands. seems to have insisted.
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It is unclear whether Israel's overnight attack resulted in any casualties, but the United Nations on Tuesday condemned the attack and Israel's military incursion into the demilitarized buffer zone beyond the Golan Heights.
Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, said: “Israeli movements and shelling into Syrian territory continue and this must stop.” He called Israel's developments “alarming.”
“This is very important,” he added. “We need to stop Israeli attacks, we need to make sure that the conflict in the northeast ends, and we need to make sure that conflicts do not develop between different armed groups.”
Israel faced international criticism this week after sending military troops across the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is a disputed territory captured by Jerusalem in 1967, and although the United States recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the area, it remains internationally recognized as part of Syria.
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In this image from a video obtained by Reuters on December 9, 2024, Israeli soldiers operate in what is believed to be southern Syria. (Israel Defense Forces/Source via Reuters)
“We oppose this type of attack. We believe this is a turning point for Syria. Neighboring countries should not use this attack to violate Syrian territory,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. Said.
In his speech, Prime Minister Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel's position, saying, “We have no intention of interfering in Syria's internal affairs, but we clearly have the intention of doing what is necessary to ensure the security of our country.''
