IGOR GIELOW
Israel carried out a mega-attack against positions of the Syrian Armed Forces in the early hours of Tuesday (10), seeking to destroy arsenals that could be used against the Jewish State if they fall into the hands of extremists after the end of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship. .
Furthermore, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the country will create a “sterile defense zone” in the demilitarized area it maintains next to Syria. Observers see this as the first step towards an even larger area of operation.
Multiple reports in the Arab media indicated in the morning that Israeli tanks crossed the border at night and arrived close to Qatana, a city 25 km from Damascus. Israel denied this, saying it only operates in the area under UN control. According to the military, the action there will include soldiers and armored personnel carriers.
Speaking to Reuters, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Navad Shoshani mentioned “operations at some additional points”, suggesting incursions into Syrian territory that the government denied. The 400 km² area that separates Syria from the Golan Heights, annexed by Israel in 1967, was invaded on Monday (9). Tel Aviv says it is a temporary measure to protect the border population, but the move has been criticized by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Iran and Türkiye.
The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said the airstrikes “must stop” and accused Israel of violating the 1974 agreement, which places a peacekeeping force in the demilitarized zone. This opened a new front of friction between Tel Aviv and the UN, following October’s Israeli incursion into Lebanon, which aimed to contain Hezbollah.
Since the first attacks on Sunday (8), when Assad fled the country, Israel has carried out 350 air strikes against 130 targets in Syria. Initially, the attacks focused on production centers and depots of chemical weapons, used by Assad in the civil war since 2011. However, tonight’s attacks aimed to militarily cripple a post-Assad Syria.
The most notable evidence was the shelling of the ports of Latakia and Al-Bayda, which are home to the small Syrian Navy. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Israel sank six patrol ships armed with missiles. Military bases across the country were hit, destroying ballistic missile stocks and part of the Syrian air force. At the end of the day, Israel claimed to have destroyed “the majority” of the regime’s strategic military resources.
The US also acted after Assad’s fall, bombing Islamic State positions on Sunday. The terrorist group continues to be the justification for the American presence in the territory, with 800 soldiers in the country.
In recent years, Israel has regularly attacked Syria, targeting connections between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. With the war unleashed by terrorists in the Gaza Strip last year, attacks intensified. Iran, the biggest loser from Assad’s fall, is cornered. Its 529 military points in Syria, according to an estimate by the NGO Jusoor, are largely abandoned.
Russia, the third largest military presence in Syria, is focused on protecting its two main assets: the Hmeimim air base and the port of Tartus. Both are crucial for its projection in the Mediterranean and operations in Africa. Satellite images suggest a Russian withdrawal, with transport planes arriving in Hmeimim and part of the naval fleet at sea, possibly awaiting evacuation.
Meanwhile, Turkey emerges as the strategic winner, supporting the radical Islamists of the HTS (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant) in their march to Damascus. The landscape in post-Assad Syria remains uncertain, with regional and global powers seeking to redefine their influence in the region.
