As part of its campaign to eliminate armaments that Syria’s military had left behind after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, Israel reportedly targeted Syria’s naval and other military assets overnight.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Israeli missile ships destroyed naval vessels belonging to Assad’s forces overnight that were armed with scores of sea-to-sea missiles.
The strikes were conducted in the port area of Latakia and Minet El Beida Bay with the objective of preventing the weapons from falling into the hands of militants who could subsequently use them against Israel, according to the sources.
In the previous day, Israel struck more than 250 Syrian military targets, according to the Israeli Army Radio, which is owned by the government.
In the past few days, the Israeli military has also relocated its soldiers to the 155-square-mile buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
The IDF releases footage from its 48-hour bombing campaign against the former Assad regime's military, destroying advanced weaponry Israel fears could fall into the hands of hostile elements including Hezbollah.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 10, 2024
The military says the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy carried… pic.twitter.com/WGEIqOWKd2
On Tuesday, the military confirmed that its forces were still in position there.
On Tuesday, Turkey joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar in condemning Israel’s deployment into the buffer zone with Syria.
Turkey occupies an enclave in northern Syria and maintains relations with some of the insurgents who ousted Assad.
Shoshani stated that the Israeli military was operational almost exclusively within the buffer zone, with a few additional points just outside it serving as defensive positions.
He also stated that the work was being conducted in conjunction with the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the region.
Israel has stated that it is not intervening in Syria’s internal power conflict, but rather is concentrating on the elimination of perceived security threats.
In the past few days, Israel’s military has conducted strikes against Syria’s antiaircraft batteries, long-range missiles and rockets, and residual chemical-weapons capabilities.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the 1974 Israel-Syria agreement that established the buffer zone disintegrated as a result of Syria’s military abandoning its posts and the emergence of new forces that may not have recognized the agreement.
On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official stated that Israel would “exact a painful and high price” from the new regime in Syria if it acts against Israel or permits Iran to continue its years-long efforts to establish itself militarily in the country.
According to John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, Israel’s operations were intended to eradicate what it regards as security threats.
It is uncertain whether the Golan Heights, a strategically significant plateau that Israel captured from Syria in a 1967 conflict and has since rehabilitated with civilian communities, will be accepted by the new forces that control Syria.
Israeli communities were shelled by Syria from the high ground of the Golan before Israel regained control of the territory.
In 1981, Israel annexed a portion of the Golan Heights; however, the majority of the international community has failed to acknowledge the action.
In 2019, President Trump acknowledged Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the Biden administration has maintained this stance.
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