Israeli strikes hit Syria’s navy, military arsenals

Israeli missile ships have destroyed naval vessels belonging to Bashar al-Assad’s forces that held dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with heavy payloads capable of striking up to 200km.

Destroyed Syrian ships in the port of Latakia after the IDF strikes. Picture: X.

Israel targeted Syria’s naval and other military assets overnight as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli missile ships destroyed naval vessels belonging to Assad’s forces that held dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with heavy payloads capable of striking up to 200km, Israel’s military said. The strikes happened in the port area of Latakia and El Beida bay, and were intended to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels who could eventually use them against Israel, it said.

The military said it had struck over 350 Syrian military targets in the past two days and destroyed most of the Assad regime’s stockpiles of missiles and other strategic weapons.

“I authorised the Air Force to bomb strategic military capabilities left behind by the Syrian army, so that they would not fall into the hands of the jihadists,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.

A Sa'ar 4.5-Class Missile Boat of the Israeli Navy seen launching Missiles last night towards the Former Naval Base of the Syrian Navy in Latakia. pic.twitter.com/j5KiqmYsrF

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 10, 2024

Netanyahu said Israel wants to establish a relationship with Syria’s new rulers, but also issued a warning against taking actions that Israel would regard as a threat.

“We want relations with the new regime in Syria,” he said. “But if this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us – we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it.” Among the extensive targets for Israel’s air strike campaign were Scud, cruise, and surface-to-air missiles, drones, jet fighters, attack helicopters and tanks, the military said Tuesday. Israel also destroyed military airfields, hangars and dozens of weapons-production sites across Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra.

***UPDATE***

Images of sunken Syrian navy ships following last night’s Israeli Navy strike on Latakia, Syria.

6 x vintage OSA-II class missile boats. pic.twitter.com/Izi2JbM8ah

— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) December 10, 2024

Israel’s military in recent days has also moved its troops into a 155-square-mile buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and said Tuesday its forces were still holding their position there.

Turkey on Tuesday joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar in condemning Israel’s deployment into the buffer zone. Turkey maintains relations with some of the rebels who pushed Assad from power and occupies an enclave in northern Syria.

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said Israel’s military was operating almost entirely within the buffer zone and a few additional points just outside it for defensive purposes. The work was being done in coordination with United Nations peacekeeping forces in the area, he said in remarks to foreign journalists.

Israel has said that it isn’t intervening in Syria’s internal power struggle, but instead is focusing its efforts on eliminating threats to its security. Netanyahu has said that the 1974 Israel-Syria agreement establishing the buffer zone collapsed after Syria’s military abandoned its posts and new forces that might not recognise the agreement took control of the country.

John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said Israel’s strikes were aimed at neutralising what it views as security threats. “We certainly recognise that they live in a tough neighbourhood and that they have, as always, the right to defend themselves,” he told reporters Tuesday.

⭕ In 48 hours, the IDF struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:

⚓ Naval Operations: Israeli Navy missile ships struck 2 Syrian Navy facilities… pic.twitter.com/6N1fz7BiMF

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 10, 2024

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that led the assault against the Assad regime and is now working to set up an interim government, hasn’t publicly commented on Israel’s strikes on Syrian military assets or the presence of Israeli troops in the buffer zone within the Golan heights.

It is unclear whether new forces controlling Syria will accept Israeli control of the Golan Heights, a strategically important plateau Israel took from Syria in a 1967 war. It has since settled it with civilian communities. Syria used the high ground of the Golan to shell Israeli communities before Israel took control of the territory.

In a press conference on Monday, Netanyahu vowed that Israel wouldn’t relinquish its control of the territory.

“Our control on the Golan Heights ensures our security; it ensures our sovereignty,” Netanyahu said. “The Golan Heights will be an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever.” Israel annexed its part of the Golan Heights in 1981, but the move hasn’t been recognised by most of the international community. President Trump recognised Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 and the Biden administration hasn’t changed from that position.

Dow Jones