On a day when the Syrian government fell to rebel forces, Israel launched airstrikes, as reported by MSNBC, in and around Damascus, targeting Syrian military sites, including air defense sites and ammunition depots, and causing at least two powerful explosions that shook Damascus. The airstrikes and explosions reportedly have caused widespread destruction, and the city is now in a state of uncertainty as both local and international forces scramble to respond. Separately, RT reported that Israel conducted three airstrikes against a security complex and research center in Damascus, where it had earlier claimed Iranian scientists were developing missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he ordered the Israel Defense Forces to enter the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights and also the “commanding positions nearby” the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan. He stated: “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.” He explained that they have temporarily seized control of a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, saying that Israel’s 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria had “collapsed” with the rebel takeover of the country.
Netanyahu said the collapse of the Assad regime was a “historic day” in the Middle East. “The Assad regime, a key link in Iran’s axis of evil, has fallen. This is a direct result of the blows we have dealt to Iran and Hezbollah.” It offers a “great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers.” Israel would “send a hand of peace” to Syrians who wanted to live in peace with Israel.
Residents of five Syrian villages inside the zone were warned, via a posting on X, to stay in their homes until further notice. “The fighting inside your area is forcing the IDF to act and we do not intend to harm you,” wrote Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman. “For your safety, you must stay at home and not go out until further notice.”
