Reason Behind Israel Attacking Syria
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RDA Gulf Correspondent - . December 11, 2024
- . Update: December 11, 2024 10:42 pm
Israel has responded to the fall of the Assad administration with a harsh military response by deploying ground troops into and outside of a demilitarized buffer zone and launching airstrikes at military sites throughout Syria for the first time in 50 years.
Following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Israel has begun expanding on the territory of its neighbor. Israel has launched almost 400 attacks on Syria since al-Assad’s dramatic run away to Russia on Sunday. In spite of concerns from the UN, Israel has also initiated a military assault into the buffer zone that has divided Syria and Russia since 1974.
For years, Israel has used the argument that it is destroying Iranian military objectives as justification for its attacks on Syria. But Iran has stated that none of its troops are present in Syria at the moment. Israel now claims that its goal is to eliminate Syria’s military facilities.
Israel says it is working to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of “extremists” which is a term it has used to describe a variety of groups including most recently Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian opposition organization that spearheaded the toppling of al-Assad.
Israel claims to have targeted military installations such as research centers, airports, naval bases, ammunition depots and weapon supplies. Additionally, Israel has sent military personnel to the buffer zone that separates Syria and Israel along the Golan Heights. As part of a ceasefire agreement mediated by the UN in 1974, the area has been formally declared as a demilitarized zone.
About two-thirds of the Golan Heights are occupied by Israel and the UN managed buffer zone is about 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) in size. Syria has been in charge of the remainder. Israeli tanks have also been seen moving from the Golan Heights toward Qatana which is 10 kilometers (six miles) into Syrian territory and near the capital.
Along with the more than 100 attacks on the capital, Israel also attacked the Khalkhalah military airport in the south, Tartous and Masyaf in the northwest, the Qusayr crossing with Lebanon and Al Mayadin in the east.
Former Syrian land along the Golan Heights, designated as a demilitarized zone since 1974, will remain a part of Israel “for eternity,” Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Monday.
Apart from “acting in the interest of Israel’s defense” the government has not made any remarks that would suggest its intentions.
