Netanyahu said the collapse of the Syrian regime was a “direct result of the severe blows” Israel dealt to the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran. However, Iran’s “axis of evil” has not yet disappeared. But “we are changing the face of the Middle East,” Netanyahu said. “The State of Israel is establishing itself as a center of power in our region in a way that has not been the case for decades.” According to activists, Israel has been carrying out heavy attacks in Syria since Assad’s fall.
0.40 a.m.: After the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel is carrying out its heaviest attacks to date in Syria, according to activists. In less than 12 hours, Israel attacked more than 100 targets in the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. These are the “most serious attacks (Israel) in Syria’s history,” said the head of the observatory, Rami Abdel-Rahman, to the German Press Agency. The UK-based organization relies on informants in Syria.
With the attacks, Israel apparently wants to destroy important military facilities and capabilities of the Assad government. The air strikes hit research centers, weapons depots, naval ships, airports and air fleets, it said. Tanks, aircraft, helicopters, ships, anti-aircraft systems, missiles, military factories, intelligence facilities and everything that the Syrian state’s army has maintained and built up over decades were destroyed. The Syrian air defense was also put out of action with the attacks in Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia and Daraa.
When asked, Israel did not comment on the attacks. Israel had repeatedly bombed targets of militias loyal to Iran in Syria in order to reduce the influence of its arch-enemy Iran, and increased these attacks after the start of the Gaza war 14 months ago. According to media reports, after the fall of Assad, Israel’s air force had already attacked a chemical weapons factory in Syria, reportedly out of concern that the weapons could fall into the hands of rebels.
12:30 a.m.: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of a resurgence of the Islamic State (IS) extremist militia in Syria. The end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime offers a historic opportunity, he says in Washington. However, there are also significant risks. IS will use the situation to reposition itself and create safe havens. “We will not allow this, as our precision attacks showed over the weekend.” The US military said it attacked IS targets in Syria on Sunday. The militia took over large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014 and declared a caliphate. A US-led coalition drove them back in 2019.
