Israel Launches Airstrikes in Syria and Secures Syrian Side of Mount Hermon
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israeli Air Force jets struck dozens of targets across Syria on Sunday, neutralizing weaponry at risk of falling into hostile hands amid the rapid collapse of the Assad regime. Israel also secured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone and strengthen key defensive positions along the border.
Dozens of Israeli Air Force jets conducted intense strikes targeting advanced missile storage sites, air defense systems, weapon production facilities, and a chemical weapons site, according to defense sources and foreign reports.
Israel conducted airstrikes on at least seven targets in southwest Syria on Sunday, according to regional security sources. The strikes included the Khalkhala air base near Sweida, abandoned by Syrian army troops the night before, leaving behind a stockpile of missiles, air defense systems, and munitions that were destroyed. Additional strikes targeted ammunition depots at Mezzeh airbase in Damascus, the sources reported.
Later, Israel launched a second wave of airstrikes in Damascus, targeting a security complex and a government research center, according to regional sources. The strikes caused significant damage to the main customs headquarters and nearby military intelligence buildings in the Kafr Sousa district, where Israel previously claimed Iranian scientists were developing missiles. The research facility was also reportedly damaged.
The U.S. also capitalized on the shifting dynamics in Syria, conducting extensive airstrikes against Islamic State targets in central Syria on Sunday.
According to U.S. Central Command, over 75 targets, including ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps, were hit using a variety of aircraft, including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters, and A-10 jets.
On Sunday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone along the Syrian border and secure additional strategic defense points. The Hermon range is highly significant, providing elevated terrain that enables Israel to monitor and anticipate potential threats with greater precision.
The IDF also took control of the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, describing the move as a defensive and temporary measure amid the chaos following the fall of the Assad regime. This marked the first time since the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement, signed after the Yom Kippur War, that Israeli forces assumed positions within the buffer zone, although brief entries had occurred in the past.
“We are acting first and foremost to protect our border,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the Golan Heights. “This area has been controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone, agreed upon in 1974, the Separation of Forces Agreement. This agreement has collapsed, the Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions.”
Israel informed the U.S. ahead of its decision to take control of the buffer zone, assuring the Biden administration that the move was temporary, expected to last only a few days to a few weeks, Axios reported Sunday evening. The IDF stated that the deployment was coordinated with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which oversees the buffer zone, and confirmed that UNDOF personnel remained at their posts as of Sunday.
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