Shafaq News/ Israeli officials announced plans to intensify airstrikes on advanced weapons stockpiles in Syria and maintain a "limited" ground presence to counter any threats arising from the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
“Israeli aircraft targeted at least three major Syrian military airbases, housing dozens of helicopters and warplanes, marking the most extensive wave of airstrikes on airbases since Assad's overthrow,” two Syrian security sources stated, as reported by Reuters.
The sources indicated that “the Qamishli airbase in northeastern Syria, the Shinshar base in Homs countryside, and the Aqraba airport southwest of Damascus were all hit. Israel also conducted several strikes on a research center on the outskirts of Damascus and an electronic warfare center near the Sayyidah Zaynab area of the capital.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at a late-night press conference on Monday, “We are taking all necessary measures to ensure our security in light of the new situation in Syria.”
A Reuters report noted that Al-Assad's fall “eliminated a stronghold through which Iran exerted its regional influence. However, the rapid advance of an opposition faction with roots linked to al-Qaeda poses risks.”
Moreover, Israeli Security Minister Yisrael Katz stated that the military “will destroy heavy strategic weapons across Syria, including surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range rockets.”
A senior Israeli official clarified that airstrikes “would continue in the coming days.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar emphasized that Israel “has no interest in interfering in Syria's internal affairs, focusing solely on defending its citizens.”
“That's why we target strategic weapon systems, such as remaining chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets, to prevent them from falling into extremist hands,” Sa'ar told reporters in Jerusalem.
Israel is still reeling from the Hamas attack in October 2023 and is also looking to avert any future threats from Syria. Israeli forces had already cleared landmines and erected new barriers along the border between the occupied Golan Heights and a demilitarized zone bordering Syria in October.
On Sunday, the Israeli military announced it had deployed ground forces to the demilitarized zone, a 400-square-kilometer buffer zone established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and overseen by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
The military on Monday released images of Israeli special forces in the Syrian Mount Hermon area.
Sa'ar noted that the presence of these forces is “extremely limited,” adding, “Primarily near our border, sometimes a few hundred meters, sometimes a mile or two... this is a minimal and temporary measure taken for security reasons.”