damascus:
War monitoring sources said Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes on old military arsenals in different parts of Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday that the latest strikes targeted missile bases of Battalion 107 near Zama and weapons warehouses in rural Tartus. Earlier on Sunday evening, an Israeli jet attacked radar installations at Deir al-Zour military air base in eastern Syria. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli aircraft targeted an old munitions depot in the mountains of rural Damascus, causing several loud explosions. There is no news of anyone being injured or killed.
These attacks are part of Israel’s ongoing military operation, which started on December 8. The operation aims to target remaining military capabilities linked to Syria’s former leadership, as new authorities seek to stabilize the country’s security situation. Israeli troops entered the UN-monitored buffer zone that separates Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights last weekend. The United Nations said that this is a violation of the 1974 ceasefire agreement.
The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel fired 61 missiles at Syrian military targets in less than five hours overnight. The attacks targeted military warehouses in Homs, Deraa, Suwayda and the Qalamoun mountains near Damascus, as well as security-related attacks on Hama airport. Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and head of Syria’s new administration, said Israel can no longer justify its recent attacks in Syria. However, he also said that his country does not want to get caught in a new conflict at the moment.
“The Israelis have clearly crossed a line in Syria, which could create a new and dangerous situation in the region,” al-Shara said. He said that despite this violation, “Syria’s exhaustion after years of war and conflict does not allow us to be drawn into new conflicts.” “Our priority at this time is reconstruction and stability,” he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “has no interest in conflict with Syria.”
He said the Israeli action was aimed “to thwart potential threats coming from Syria and to prevent terrorist elements from taking over our border.”
Meanwhile, the US said on Saturday that it had contacted HTS. However, America declared this group as “terrorist” in 2018. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters, “We are in contact with HTS and other parties.” He did not explain how this contact happened. Blinken and other diplomats from Arab countries and Turkey held talks on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan on Saturday.
