Israel destroys Syria’s navy, its troops advance over border

Damascus: Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said on Wednesday (AEDT), and the Israeli defence minister announced that his forces had destroyed Syria’s navy.

Israel acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad. But it remained unclear if its soldiers had gone beyond that area, which was established more than 50 years ago. Israel denied it was advancing on the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Smoke rises after an IDF strike reportedly targeted ammunition depots near Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus, Syria. Credit: Getty Images

Israeli officials have said they are striking military targets, including heavy weapons, suspected chemical weapons sites and air defence systems, to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists.

Photographs circulating online showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes. Associated Press reporters in the capital heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into the morning.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel intended to establish a demilitarised zone in southern Syria.

Speaking at a navy base in Haifa, Katz said the army would create a “defence zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence, in order to prevent terrorism in Syria from taking root”.

He gave few details on what that entailed but warned Syria’s rebels that “whoever follows Assad’s path will end up like Assad. We will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel”.

In an area with so many geopolitical lines packed closely together, any military movement can spark regional fears. It is barely 60 kilometres from Damascus to the buffer zone and only a few more miles to Israeli territory.

There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, that have taken control of much of the country. Their lightning advance brought an end to the Assad family’s half-century rule after nearly 14 years of civil war, leaving many questions about what comes next.

A column of black smoke allegedly caused by an Israeli airstrike, as seen from Umayyad Square in Damascus.Credit: AP

Members of the ousted Syrian government would gradually transfer power to a new transitional cabinet headed by Mohammed al-Bashir, who reportedly headed the rebel’s “salvation government” in its south-west Syrian stronghold.

Outgoing officials met Bashir for the first time on Tuesday, who announced he was assuming the role of caretaker prime minister and the transitional government would last until March 1.

Life in the capital is slowly returning to normal after the overthrow of Assad, who fled the country over the weekend and has been granted political asylum in Russia.

Shops reopened in the city’s ancient Al-Hamidiyeh market, where armed men and civilians could be seen buying perfume and ice cream. A clothing shop owner, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said he hoped vendors would no longer have to pay bribes to security officials.

Pedestrians walk outside Al-Hamidiyeh market in Damascus’ old walled city.Credit: AP

At Bakdash, a famous ice cream shop, a poster outside read: “Welcome to the rebels of free Syria. Long live free Syria.”

“Damascus is more beautiful now,” said Maysoun Qurabi, who was shopping in the market. “It has a soul, and people feel at ease and secure.”

Under Assad, she said, “people were hungry and scared. The regime was strong”.

Israeli incursion draws condemnation

In the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall, Israeli forces moved into a roughly 400-square-kilometre buffer zone inside Syria that was established after the 1973 Middle East war, a move it said was taken to prevent attacks on its citizens.

Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with its neighbours and occupying it indefinitely, citing security concerns. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally except by the United States.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has closely tracked the conflict since the civil war erupted in 2011, said Israel had carried out more than 300 airstrikes across the country since the rebels overthrew Assad.

The Observatory, and Beirut-based Mayadeen TV, which has reporters in Syria, said Israeli troops were advancing up the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon and had come within 25 kilometres of Damascus, which the Israeli military denied.

Damascus advance ‘false’

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said that “reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks towards Damascus are false”. He said Israeli troops were stationed within the buffer zone to protect Israel.

Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the air force was methodically destroying Syria’s military assets to ensure whoever ruled the country next would have to rebuild them.

The operations “have been systematically destroying all that remains of the escaped tyrant’s military,” wrote Yossi Yehoshua, the military correspondent for Israel’s largest daily, Yediot Ahronot.

“Dozens upon dozens of targets, including arms depots of various kinds, have been hit in waves of attacks to prevent them from falling into hostile hands and from posing a threat to Israel.” The air force “currently enjoys complete freedom of action,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later confirmed the airstrikes, saying they aimed to destroy the toppled government’s leftover “military capabilities”, and said Israel wanted relations with the new government in Syria. He spoke in a video statement recorded after his first day of testimony in his corruption trial.

Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law.

Turkey, which has been a main backer of the Syrian opposition to Assad, also condemned Israel’s advance.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of “displaying a mentality of an occupier” at a time when the possibility of peace and stability had emerged in Syria.

On Monday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israel’s incursion constituted a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement and called on both Israel and Syria to uphold it.

AP

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