Getty ImagesIsrael has confirmed that it has attacked the Syrian navy.
The BBC has confirmed videos of the explosions at the port of Latakia in Syria, with footage showing extensive damage to ships and parts of the port.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says it has documented more than 310 attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) since the Assad regime was toppled on Sunday.
According to reports, Israeli warplanes have also carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, including the capital Damascus.
In a statement, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF’s goal was to “destroy strategic capabilities that pose a threat to the State of Israel”.
He added that the operation to destroy the Syrian fleet had been a “huge success”.
In a video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian rebel group that ousted President Bashar al-Assad, that if Israel “allows Iran to reestablish itself,” Israel Will give a “strong answer”. evening”.
Meanwhile, the IDF has confirmed that its troops are operating in Syrian territory beyond the demilitarized buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
It added that its strikes were aimed at preventing weapons from falling into the “hands of extremists” as Syria transitions to a post-Assad era.
SOHR reported that attacks spread across Aleppo, Damascus and Hama, with more than 60 attacks between Monday and Tuesday night alone.
They targeted military installations of the Syrian army, including weapons warehouses, ammunition depots, airports, naval bases and research centers.
Reports say that many of the affected installations have not only been damaged but have been completely destroyed.
SOHR founder, Rami Abdel Rahman, described the impact of the strikes as “destroying all the capabilities of the Syrian army” and said “Syrian lands are being violated”.
Getty ImagesThe IDF acknowledged that its troops had entered Syrian territory but told the BBC that reports of tanks near Damascus were “false”.
He said some soldiers were stationed inside. Separation area which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights “and then a few additional points”.
“When we say some additional points, we are talking about the separation zone or the buffer zone area around it,” IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani told the BBC.
BBC Verify has photographed an IDF soldier standing on a hill near the village of Kwdana in the Golan Heights, half a kilometer from the demilitarized buffer zone inside Syria.
on Monday, The Israeli army has released photos of its soldiers entering the demilitarized buffer zone from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In Syria, where the United Nations peacekeeping forces are stationed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the IDF’s occupation of Syrian positions in the buffer zone was a “temporary defensive position until an appropriate arrangement is found”.
He said that if we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that is our desire, but if we don’t, we will do whatever it takes to defend the state of Israel and Israel’s border. They will do it if they have to. Monday
Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned Israel’s entry into the buffer zone, accusing it of an “occupation mentality” during a “sensitive period” when the peace and stability the Syrian people have longed for for years. The possibility of achieving it has emerged.
This buffer zone, also known as the Area of Separation, was established in 1974 as part of Israel’s cease-fire agreement with Syria after Israel’s first occupation of the Golan Heights. , Israeli and Syrian forces can be kept separate.
Israel unilaterally occupied the Golan in 1981. The move was not recognized internationally, although the US did so unilaterally in 2019.
Asked about the IDF attacks on Monday night, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was only concerned with defending its own citizens.
“That’s why we attack strategic weapons systems, for example, leftover chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets so they don’t fall into the hands of extremists,” he said.
On Monday, the UN’s chemical watchdog warned authorities in Syria to ensure that suspected chemical weapons stockpiles are protected.
It is not known where and how many chemical weapons Syria has, but it is already believed to be. President Assad hoarded.
The Israeli strikes came after Syrian rebel fighters captured the capital Damascus. Overthrew Assad’s government at the end of the week.. He and his father were in power in the country since 1971.
Forces led by the Islamist opposition group HTS entered Damascus on Sunday morning, before announcing on state television that Syria was now “liberated”.
Additional reporting by Ian Casey