Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Syria, labeling these actions as a warning to the newly established Islamist leadership in Damascus. On Thursday, Israel accused Turkey of attempting to transform Syria into a Turkish protectorate. In response, Turkey asserted that Israel must withdraw from Syria and cease its actions that undermine stabilization efforts in the region.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated, “Israel has emerged as the most significant threat to regional security,” describing it as a “strategic destabilizer that incites chaos and fuels terrorism.” The ministry emphasized that for security to be established across the region, Israel must renounce its expansionist policies, retreat from occupied territories, and stop obstructing efforts to stabilize Syria.
The recent airstrikes, which targeted a location near Damascus and various air bases, have heightened Israeli concerns regarding the Islamist factions that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December. Israeli officials perceive these groups as an escalating threat along their border. Additionally, wary of Turkey’s influence over Damascus, Israel has been pursuing its objectives in Syria since Assad’s removal, including gaining ground in the southwest, expressing a commitment to protect the Druze minority, advocating for a weakened Syrian state in Washington, and destroying much of the Syrian military’s heavy weaponry shortly after Assad’s fall.
The Israeli military reported that its forces operating in the southwest killed several militants who opened fire on them during a targeted mission beyond the separation zone where they are stationed in Syria. Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency SANA claimed that Israeli shelling resulted in the deaths of nine individuals in the area, marking what it described as the most significant incursion by Israeli troops to date. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the airstrikes conducted late Wednesday served as “a clear message and a warning for the future – we will not permit the security of the State of Israel to be compromised.”
Katz stated that Israel’s military will continue to operate in buffer zones within Syria to address security threats, cautioning the Syrian government that it would face severe consequences if it permitted hostile forces to enter.
Highlighting Israeli apprehensions regarding Turkish influence in the evolving landscape of Syria, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticized Ankara for its “negative role” in Syria, Lebanon, and other areas. He remarked at a press conference in Paris, “They are striving to establish Syria as a Turkish protectorate. Their intentions are evident.”
In response, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli airstrikes as an unjustified escalation intended to destabilize the nation, urging the international community to exert pressure on Israel to “cease its aggression.”
On Thursday, Israeli airstrikes reportedly targeted the town of Kiswah, located south of Damascus, as per Syria’s state news agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties, nor did the Israeli military provide any immediate comments.
Historically, Israel has frequently bombed Syria during Assad’s regime, focusing on the foothold established by Iran during the civil war.
AIR BASE DESTROYED
The recent strikes marked some of the most intense Israeli assaults in Syria since Assad’s ousting. The Syrian Foreign Ministry reported that Israel targeted five distinct locations within a 30-minute timeframe, leading to the near-total destruction of the Hama air base and injuring numerous civilians and soldiers.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had targeted remaining military assets at air bases in Hama and Homs provinces, as well as military infrastructure in the Damascus area, where Syrian media and officials indicated that a scientific research facility was among the sites hit.
A military source in Hama informed Reuters that a series of strikes resulted in the destruction of runways, control towers, armament depots, and hangars at the military airport. “Israel has entirely obliterated the Hama air base to prevent its future use,” the source stated.
On Wednesday, Israel confirmed it also targeted the T4 air base in Homs province, which has been struck multiple times over the past week.
In a separate incident in southwestern Syria, the Israeli military reported that its forces were engaged in operations in the Tasil area, where they were “confiscating weapons and dismantling terrorist infrastructure” when they came under fire from several militants.
Local residents in Tasil, contacted by phone, indicated that a group of armed individuals was killed after confronting an Israeli army unit that had come to dismantle a former Syrian army encampment.
The Israeli military stated that there were no injuries among its personnel, who “returned fire and neutralized several armed terrorists from both ground and air.”
“The presence of weapons in southern Syria poses a threat to the State of Israel,” the military emphasized. “The IDF will not permit any military threat to persist in Syria and will take action against it.”
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