Hundreds of strikes, warships sunk, tanks on Syrian soil: How Israel reacted to Assad's fall
Syrians say they believe Israel is taking advantage of the end of the Assad era to take further land from their country
Lubna Masarwa
Last Update: 2024-12-11 17:00:04 - Source: Middle East Eye
Smoke billows from a Syrian naval ship destroyed in an overnight Israeli attack on Latakia on 10 December 2024 (Aaref Watad/AFP)
The Israeli army has reportedly launched at least 310 air strikes into Syria, targeting critical military infrastructure since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad early on Sunday.
Within 48 hours, the Israeli military estimated that it had destroyed around 80 percent of the Syrian army’s strategic capabilities, leading one expert to say it is now "a de facto demilitarised country".
Meanwhile, Israeli troops seized areas of a demilitarised buffer zone previously in the Syrian army’s control, including the strategically placed Mount Hermon - which Syrians call Jebel al-Sheikh - just 40km from Damascus.
It has been also been reported that soldiers have taken positions 10km beyond the buffer zone in the town of Qatana, 25km from the capital. Israel has denied this but has said it is preparing for a prolonged stay within the zone.
So, what is Israel doing? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other officials have said that Israel is destroying any means by which rebel groups in Syria could attack the country.
“We are reaching out a hand to whoever wants to live with us in peace, and we will cut off the hand of whoever tries to hurt us,” Netanyahu said on Monday in his first press conference in 99 days.
'The state of Israel is establishing its position as a centre of power in our region, as it has not been for decades'
- Benjamin Netanyahu
He underlined that the Golan Heights, an area Israel captured during the 1967 war with Syria and has occupied ever since, would be "forever part of Israel", thanking US President-elect Donald Trump once again for recognising Israel's sovereignty over the area in 2019. The United Nations and most of the international community recognise the Golan as part of Syria.
The prime minister also noted that he had promised on 9 October 2023 to "change the face of the Middle East".
"In the Gaza Strip, we destroyed the Iranian arm, destroyed the Hamas battalions, eliminated the top of the organisation, crushed the terrorist infrastructures - those above ground and those below ground.
"Nasrallah is no longer with us, and neither is the axis what it was. We are breaking it down piece by piece," he said, while saying it was not completely gone.
"The state of Israel is establishing its position as a centre of power in our region, as it has not been for decades. Those who cooperate with us, benefit greatly. Whoever attacks us, loses big."
'Invasion of yet more land'
Many Syrians and others watching the fast-moving pace of events say they believe Israel's efforts go beyond defending itself and that Netanyahu is using this moment of change in their country to permanently seize further territory.
Haid Haid, a senior consulting associate fellow at Chatham House, told Middle East Eye that Israel had already secured enough territories in Lebanon in recent weeks to defend itself from any attacks from Syria.
'They are saying they will give it back, but they are already occupying the Golan Heights which they haven’t given back'
- Haid Haid, Chatham House
"The capabilities they have there would also allow them to protect their areas, especially after eliminating all the long-range missiles and military capabilities inside Syria," Haid said, pointing to reports that Israeli troops had reached Qatana.
"They are saying they will give it back, but they are already occupying the Golan Heights which they haven’t given back. What would make you believe they will give this back?”
Rime Allaf, a Syrian writer and political analyst, posted on X that Israel's actions were "an illegal and immoral literal invasion of yet more land & a theft of Syrians' right to their own army, destroyed by Israel the minute the monstrous regime fell".
Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian activist and writer, told MEE that Israel's "flagrant violations" were being carried out with little outcry from the international community.
He believes the goal is to make the new Syrian government "accept the fait accompli that it imposes through the expanded occupation and by destroying Syria forces and cancelling its sovereignty".
What has been hit?
It is unclear exactly how many strikes Israel has made on Syria since Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that it had confirmed over 310 air strikes.
The Israeli military told CNN it had carried out 480 strikes during the same period, around 350 of which it said were conducted by manned aircraft.
So far, reports indicate that Israel has destroyed or significantly damaged 15 Syrian naval vessels with strikes on ports at Al-Bayda and Latakia. Dozens of sea-to-sea missiles were also reported to have been taken out.
Dozens of helicopters and planes, reportedly including Syria's entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets, and stockpiles of ammunition have reportedly been wiped out in attacks on at least five air bases.
Israel also reportedly targeted a security complex in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of Damascus, hitting buildings that included intelligence, customs and a military headquarters as well as a government research centre said to have been used in the past by Iran to develop missiles.
The Israeli military told reporters it had also carried out strikes on sites in Palmyra.
Defense Minister Katz said on Tuesday that the Israeli military was creating a "sterile defence zone" in southern Syria "free of weapons and terrorist threats" and without a permanent Israeli presence.
But Haid said even before the Israeli strikes this week, Syria would have been unable to effectively attack Israel with its existing military infrastructure.
Now that Israel has essentially destroyed any capabilities it had to strike, he again questioned why it would need to take positions in or beyond the demilitarised zone given the areas it has secured in Lebanon.
He also pointed to reports that Israel and Syrian rebel groups have previously come to successful arrangements whereby Israel provided emergency aid and medical care to fighters so long as the groups did not attack Israelis over the border.
"They could have done what they did in the past, but they chose not to, so it’s raising questions about what are they doing," Haid said.
Blocking state building?
Netanyahu said late on Tuesday that Israel won't interfere in internal affairs in Syria.
Some observers said they don't buy his promise, saying they believe Israel, in addition to seizing territory for keeps, is trying to halt a functional, post-Assad Syrian state before it can even start.
Abed Abou Shhadeh, a political activist based in Jaffa, said Israel is "wary of any transition from authoritarian regimes - whether monarchies or autocracies - to democratic systems in the Arab world".
"Such a shift would undermine Israel's ability to leverage its military power and its ties with the US and the West to impose political arrangements in the region," he told MEE.