Israel Escalates Airstrikes on Syrian Military Installations: Conflict Monitor
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Damascus, Dec 15 (NationPress) Israel has escalated its airstrikes on Syrian military installations, carrying out 24 air raids in the outskirts of Damascus, according to a conflict monitor.
The airstrikes reportedly targeted installations equipped with tunnels that are carved into the mountainside of the affected region, as stated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.
With these latest operations, the total count of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian soil has now reached 426 since the fall of the Syrian government on December 8. These strikes have affected 13 provinces across Syria, according to the observatory.
Israeli airstrikes have focused on Syrian military assets nationwide, with Israeli officials asserting that the purpose of these attacks is to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of terrorist factions.
The military actions undertaken by Israel in Syria have drawn condemnation from neighboring countries and prompted the international community to call for respect towards Syria's sovereignty, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
The observatory noted that multiple rounds of bombardment targeted military sites associated with the former regime forces, aimed at dismantling the remnants of the Syrian army's capabilities.
On Friday, Israeli airstrikes focused on a missile base located at the summit of Damascus's Mount Qasyun, as well as an airport in the southern province of Sweida and defense and research facilities in Masyaf, situated in Hama province.
Since the fall of Assad, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes against Syrian military sites, targeting everything from chemical weapons depots to air defense systems.
In a controversial move that has incited international backlash, Israel also took control of a United Nations-monitored buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights just hours after rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, seized Damascus.
On Thursday, UN Chief Antonio Guterres voiced his concern regarding extensive violations of Syrian sovereignty and the Israeli airstrikes within the country, according to his spokesperson.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that thousands of Syrian refugees have begun returning to their homeland from Lebanon via the Masnaa border point and other crossings, heading back to locations such as Idlib, Damascus, Daraa, and Aleppo. Simultaneously, some Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon.
Reports also indicate that refugees are returning from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings to northwestern Syria.
