Israel has announced it will intensify airstrikes against advanced weapon stockpiles in Syria and maintain a “limited” military presence on the ground to prevent any potential threats arising after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israel is observing the upheaval in Syria with a mix of hope and concern as it evaluates the implications of one of the most significant strategic changes in the Middle East in decades.
While the fall of Assad has weakened Iran—Israel’s key adversary—by removing a major stronghold of influence in the region, the rapid advance of a coalition of Syrian rebels, led by the jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), presents its own risks.
Targeting strategic weapons
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the military would destroy Syria’s heavy strategic weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets, and anti-ship missiles.
An unnamed senior Israeli official noted that strikes would continue in the coming days. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar emphasised that Israel is not interested in interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, focusing solely on defending its citizens.
“For this reason, we are targeting strategic weapon systems, such as remaining chemical weapons, long-range missiles, and rockets, to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists,” Sa’ar explained to reporters in Jerusalem.
Preventing future threats
Israel aims to preempt any future threats from Syria. Since October, Israeli forces have cleared minefields and set up new barriers along the border between the occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarised zone adjacent to Syria.
Early Sunday, the Israeli military announced the deployment of ground forces to the demilitarised zone, established in 1974 under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria, overseen by a UN force.
On Monday, the military released photographs of elite forces operating in the Mount Hermon region.
Sa’ar clarified that the deployment of Israeli troops is strictly limited. “Essentially, they are near our borders, sometimes a few hundred meters, sometimes one or two miles away,” he said. “This is a very limited and temporary measure we have taken for security reasons.”
Hezbollah reacts to developments in Syria
Hezbollah has described the developments in Syria as a “major, dangerous, and new shift,” according to a statement by Lebanese MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the Iranian-aligned Shiite organisation.
“What is happening in Syria represents a major, dangerous, and new shift, and understanding the how and why requires careful evaluation, which cannot be done on a public platform,” the Hezbollah politician stated in the organisation’s first public reaction to the dramatic changes in Syria.
Hezbollah played a pivotal role in supporting Assad and his regime throughout the Syrian conflict. However, over the past year, the group redeployed much of its forces from Syria back to Lebanon to combat Israel. This shift weakened the lines of Damascus’s military forces, leaving them vulnerable to the recent rebel advances that culminated in the overthrow of Assad’s regime.
Also read: Terrorism and mass destruction weapons: CYCLOPS in the Middle East
Photo source: EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Source: ANA-MPA
