Israeli strikes hit Syria’s navy, military arsenals
Summary
The strikes targeted military assets as part of Israel’s campaign to destroy weapons left behind by Bashar al-Assad’s military.
TEL AVIV—Israel targeted Syria’s naval and other military assets overnight as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli missile ships overnight destroyed naval vessels belonging to Assad’s forces that held sea-to-sea missiles, a person familiar with the matter said. The strikes happened in the port area of Latakia and Minet El Beida Bay, and were intended to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels that could eventually use them against Israel, the person said. Israel’s state-owned Israeli Army Radio reported that Israel struck over 250 Syrian military targets in the past day.
Israel’s military in recent days has also moved its troops into the 155-square-mile buffer zone in the Golan Heights and said Tuesday its forces were still holding their position there. Turkey on Tuesday joined Egypt and Qatar in condemning Israel’s deployment into the buffer zone with Syria.
Israel has said that it is not intervening in Syria’s internal power struggle, but instead is focusing its efforts on eliminating perceived threats to its security. In recent days, Israel’s military has struck Syria’s residual chemical weapons capabilities, long-range missiles and rockets, and antiaircraft batteries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 1974 Israel-Syria agreement establishing the buffer zone had collapsed after Syria’s military abandoned its posts and new forces that may not recognize the agreement took control of the country.
It is unclear whether new forces controlling Syria will accept Israeli control of the Golan Heights, a strategically important plateau Israel took from Syria in a 1967 war and has since settled with civilian communities. Syria used the high ground of the Golan to shell Israeli communities before Israel took control of the territory.
In a press conference on Monday, Netanyahu vowed Israel wouldn’t relinquish its control of the territory.
“Our control on the Golan Heights ensures our security; it ensures our sovereignty," Netanyahu said. “The Golan Heights will be an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever."
Israel annexed its part of the Golan Heights in 1981, but the move hasn’t been recognized by most of the international community. President Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019.
Write to Dov Lieber at dov.lieber@wsj.com
