Israeli Airstrikes Persist in Syria, Focusing on Military Stockpiles
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Damascus, Dec 16 (NationPress) Israeli warplanes executed a series of airstrikes, focusing on former military stockpiles throughout Syria, as indicated by a conflict monitoring organization.
The recent operations struck missile facilities in Battalion 107 near Zama and ammunition storage in rural Tartus, as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday.
In the early hours of Sunday, an Israeli aircraft allegedly targeted radar systems at the Deir Al-Zour Military Airport in eastern Syria.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli jets aimed at former arms depots embedded in mountainous regions of Rural Damascus, causing a series of significant explosions.
No casualties have been reported.
These strikes form part of an ongoing military initiative by Israel that commenced on December 8, focusing on any remaining military assets associated with Syria's previous regime, as the nation’s new leaders strive to stabilize the security landscape.
Israeli forces breached the United Nations-monitored buffer zone that separates Israeli and Syrian troops in the Golan Heights last weekend, a move the UN deemed a violation of the 1974 armistice.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that Israel launched 61 missiles at Syrian military locations in under five hours overnight, targeting military depots in Homs, Deraa, Suwayda, and the Qalamoun mountains near Damascus, as well as air defense systems at Hama airport.
The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the de facto head of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, stated that Israel's recent actions in Syria are no longer defensible, although he remarked that his country is not positioned to engage in a new conflict.
"The Israelis have evidently crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which poses a threat of unwarranted escalation in the region," al-Sharaa stated, adding that despite the breach, "the overall exhaustion in Syria following years of war and conflict does not permit us to enter new confrontations."
"The focus at this moment is on rebuilding and ensuring stability," he emphasized.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that his country had "no desire for conflict with Syria," claiming that Israeli operations aim to "counteract potential threats from Syria and to avert the encroachment of terrorist factions near our borders."
In a separate development, the US disclosed on Saturday that it had established contact with HTS, despite having classified the group as "terrorist" in 2018.
"We have been in communication with HTS and other involved parties," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed reporters, without elaborating on the nature of the contact.
Blinken, along with diplomats from Arab nations and Turkey, engaged in discussions regarding Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday.
