Israel deployed tanks
and troops to occupy the buffer zone in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on 8
December following the fall of the Syrian government to foreign-backed
extremist groups overnight.
The Israeli army
announced its forces occupy "several points necessary for defense" in
the buffer zone, citing the possibility of "armed men" entering the
zone.
The buffer zone was
established in 1974 as part of the ceasefire that ended the Yom Kippur War
between Israel and Syria.
Foreign-backed
extremist militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Damascus overnight
after a lightning advance on the capital that began less than two weeks ago
from their strongholds in Idlib Governorate.
Militants from HTS,
formerly known as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, quickly occupied the
Aleppo countryside and city before moving south to capture Hama, Homs, and
finally, Damascus.
The Syrian army
withdrew from Homs and Damascus without putting up resistance.
The Israeli army
claimed it "does not interfere in internal events" in Syria but will
remain in the buffer zone "as long as necessary."
Israeli troops entered
the buffer zone under the pretext of an alleged threat from extremist
militants.
Israeli Foreign
Minister Gideon Saar claimed "armed forces" entered the buffer zone
and attacked UN peacekeeping forces stationed in the area.
"Israel is
concerned about violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel
and Syria, which also pose a threat to its security, the safety of its
communities, and its citizens, particularly in the Golan Heights region,"
he wrote on X.
Israel captured the
Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 war, illegally occupying the area and
annexing it in 1981.
Israel has bombed Syria
hundreds of times since the start of the US-led covert war on Syria began in
2011. The bombing continued after the war ended in 2019, in what Israeli media
dubbed the "battle between the wars."
Israeli attacks
intensified further after the start of the war in Gaza over a year ago. Israel
claimed it was targeting weapons facilities used to support Hezbollah and the
Islamic resistance in Lebanon.
Israeli airstrikes hit
the Mazzeh district of Damascus and an airbase in Suwayda in southern Syria on
8 December, just hours after the Syrian government fell to foreign-backed
extremists.
Dozens of Israeli
airstrikes hit the Mazzeh Military Airport along with customs and intelligence
buildings, the security square, scientific research facilities, and defense
laboratories.
Additionally, suspected
Israeli warplanes bombed the Khalkhala air base in southern Syria, two regional
security sources told Reuters.
The airbase was
evacuated by the Syrian army overnight as militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS) took control of the capital, Damascus.
The regional security
sources said at least six strikes hit the air base, which is located near the Druze-majority city
of Suwayda. The base has a large stockpile of rockets and missiles left behind
by the Syrian army.
One source claimed that
the attack appeared to be aimed at preventing these weapons from falling into
the hands of HTS.
However, a militant
commander who participated in the HTS attack on Aleppo a week ago told The
Times of Israel that they are committed to friendly relations with Israel.
"We are open to
friendship with everyone in the region – including Israel. We don't have
enemies other than the Assad regime, Hezbollah and Iran. What Israel did
against Hezbollah in Lebanon helped us a great deal. Now we are taking care of
the rest," the commander stated.
During the war in Syria
between 2011 and 2018, Israel provided direct support to militants from HTS,
formerly known as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
Israel provided
weapons, medical assistance, salaries, and air support from its air force to
Nusra militants as they battled the Syrian army in the south of the country.
After the war ended,
Israel bombed Syria hundreds of times in what Israeli media dubbed the
"war between the wars."
Israeli attacks
intensified further after the start of the war in Gaza over a year ago. Israel
claimed it was targeting weapons facilities used to support Hezbollah and the
Islamic resistance in Lebanon.
Three people were killed on 8
December in an Israeli raid that targeted the Debbin area in the southern
Lebanese town of Marjayoun, as Tel Aviv continues to violate the ceasefire with
Lebanon since it took effect last month.
“Three civilian martyrs fell in the
Israeli raid that targeted the lower Al-Arid neighborhood in Debbin,” reported
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) correspondent in Marjayoun.
The attack came one day after four
people were killed and six wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the southern town
of Beit Lif.
“Rescue teams have stopped working
due to the lack of the necessary equipment to remove the rubble,” NNA reported
on Saturday.
The Lebanese outlet had reported
last week that Israel has violated the ceasefire 129 times – after twelve
violations were committed in a single day on Wednesday.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim
Qassem said on 5 December that, despite dozens of Israeli violations inside
Lebanon, the group is “giving an opportunity” for the ceasefire agreement to
succeed.
The resistance group launched a
limited rocket attack on Israeli-occupied Lebanese land on 2 December, with its
military media describing the operation as a “warning” in response to Tel
Aviv’s consistent violations of the ceasefire.
Israel responded with over a dozen
deadly airstrikes across southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army remains deployed
across south Lebanon and is required to withdraw within 60 days from the
announcement of the ceasefire on 27 November.
Sunday’s violations came as Israeli
forces invaded Quneitra in southwest Syria to reinforce a UN-monitored buffer
zone – coinciding with the fall of the Damascus government on 8 December and
the storming of the country’s capital by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremists.
“In light of the events in Syria,
and in accordance with the assessment of the situation and the possibility of
armed men entering the buffer zone, the army has deployed forces in the buffer
zone and at several points necessary for defense, in order to ensure the
security of the Golan Heights settlements and the citizens of Israel,” the
Israeli army said in a statement.
A closed military zone has been
declared, and Israel said it would remain in the buffer zone for the time
being.
Leaders
from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced early on 8 December the toppling of
the Syrian government after their forces took control of the capital, Damascus,
just over 10 days after launching a shock offensive that saw little to no
opposition from the armed forces.
“After
long years of injustice, tyranny, and oppression, and after great sacrifices
made by the sons and daughters of this dear homeland, we announce today to the
great Syrian people and the entire world that the regime of Bashar al-Assad has
fallen and that he has fled the country, leaving behind a legacy of destruction
and suffering,” HTS said in a statement in which it refers to itself as the
“National Transitional Council.”
The
UN-designated terrorist organization also pledged to “preserve the unity and
sovereignty of Syrian territory … protect all citizens and their property,
regardless of their affiliations" and to “achieve comprehensive national
reconciliation,” the statement adds.
"To
all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to
approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the
former Prime Minister until they are officially handed over, and it is also
forbidden to fire bullets in the air," HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani
said in a separate statement.
Julani's
announcement coincided with a televised address by Syrian Prime Minister
Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, who said the remnants of the government are “ready to
hand over power smoothly.”
“We
want to ensure the continuity of the work of state institutions and security
for all. I want everyone to think rationally, and we extend our hand to the
opposition. Syria is for all Syrians,” Jalali said.
Over
the past 10 days, HTS and Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters – most of them
former members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS – took control of the cities of Aleppo,
Hama, and Homs before advancing on Damascus.
In
response, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continuously “repositioned” its troops to
avoid clashing with the extremists, citing the protection of civilians before
folding entirely on Sunday.
Nevertheless,
heavy battles were reported at the Sayyeda Zainab Shrine in Damascus, where a
few dozen Shia Muslim fighters reportedly gathered to protect the holy site
from the Salafi extremists.
No
official information has been released about the whereabouts of president
Bashar al-Assad. However, moments before the extremist groups took control of
Damascus International Airport, open-source flight trackers recorded a single
plane in Syria’s airspace.
The Illyushin76 aircraft, with flight number
Syrian Air 9218, was the last flight to take off from the airport. It initially
flew east before turning north. A few minutes later, its signal disappeared as
it circled over Homs.
Hours
after HTS took control of Damascus, Israeli tanks were reportedly seen moving
into the buffer zone in the Quneitra area of the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel's
Army Radio reported on Sunday morning that the army raised the readiness of its
forces in the occupied Syrian Golan as officials announced plans to carry out
offensive operations in the buffer zone near Quneitra under the pretext of
strengthening the border defenses.
Extremist armed groups battling
under the banner of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of the strategic
city of Homs in central Syria on 7 December, after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA)
“repositioned its forces” outside the city with no clashes reported.
“The SAA, paramilitary forces, and
allies of the Syrian government withdrew from the city of Homs … No clashes
were recorded in or around the city before orders were given out to soldiers to
withdraw,” Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Homs reported late on Saturday.
According to local sources, fighters
from the Turkish-backed HTS and Syrian National Army (SNA) have taken control
of “every neighborhood in the city.”
HTS, a UN-designated terrorist
organization, launched a shock invasion of the Aleppo countryside on 27
November. Their numbers were reportedly bolstered by extremist groups from
Central Asia that entered Syria via Turkiye. Ukrainian special forces have also
been providing support to the armed groups.
Over the past 10 days, HTS and SNA
fighters – most of them former members of Al-Qaeda and ISIS – have taken
control of the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.
As the offensive gains speed, the
SAA has repeatedly chosen to redeploy troops outside battle zones, largely
avoiding clashes.
Homs is strategically positioned at
a crucial crossroads between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces, Latakia
and Tartus – the government’s stronghold and home to a vital Russian naval
base.
Al Mayadeen reports that, after
leaving Homs, the SAA has also withdrawn "from the mountains of Latakia
towards the city on the Syrian coast." The Syrian army also withdrew from
the eastern Deir Ezzor governorate earlier this week under an “agreement” with
the US-sponsored Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
With Damascus now in sight of the
extremists, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has ordered reinforcements to the
Hermel area, which borders Syria and is located around 40 km away from Homs.
“The seeds of the regime’s defeat
have always been within it… the Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying
it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth
remains: this regime is dead,” HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, a former
Al-Qaeda warlord and deputy of the notorious ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
told CNN earlier this week.
Since the start of the offensive,
western media launched a blitz to promote Julani and HTS as
“diversity-friendly" moderates that will protect Syria's religious
minorities.
During the US-led war on Syria that
began in 2011, the Nusra Front (HTS' former name) and ISIS carried out large
numbers of massacres of Christians, Shiites, Alawites, Yezidis, and even Sunnis
who were supportive of the governments of Iraq and Syria.
"We called for an immediate end
to hostile activities ... and for this purpose called for the dialogue between
the government and legitimate opposition," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said Saturday from Doha after meeting his Turkish and Iranian
counterparts.
Patrick
Keddie and Edna Mohamed
- Syrian opposition fighters say President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule has come to an end after they seized the capital, Damascus.
- Al-Assad has stepped down and left Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry says. His whereabouts remain unknown.
- Curfew is declared in Damascus after people take to the streets of the capital and elsewhere to celebrate the downfall of al-Assad’s government.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights following the opposition’s takeover in Syria.
- The dramatic turn of events comes after opposition forces seized several strategic cities in a lightning offensive.
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