Posted on 12/09/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported early Tuesday morning that Israeli tanks are now positioned approximately 20 kilometers from the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Reports also indicated the IDF has taken control of nine villages in the southern outskirts of Damascus, near the border with Lebanon. At the same time, there were reports of extensive strikes in the Damascus area.
Earlier, Syrian media outlets reported Israeli strikes on the Al-Shuairat military airport, east of Homs, and on Syrian army targets in the provinces of Raqqa and Al-Hasakah.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition organization based in Britain, stated earlier that Israel had struck more than 250 targets across Syria in less than 48 hours, following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.
Sources told Fox News on Monday evening that Israel and the US are taking advantage of the fact that Russian fighter jets that had been deployed to Syria are grounded.
On Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted dozens of precision air strikes targeting known Islamic State (ISIS) camps and terrorists in central Syria.
“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,” CENTCOM said.
It added that the operation struck over 75 targets using multiple US Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s.
The IDF took control of the Syrian Golan Heights to protect Israel from the fallout of the fighting after the Syrian rebels brought down the Assad regime.
On Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to act to take control of additional sites in the buffer zone in Syria and to maximize its achievements.
Katz also instructed that the IDF work to create a security area which is clear of heavy strategic weapons and terror infrastructure in the southern area, near the buffer area, which could threaten the State of Israel, while reaching out to the local Druze population and other populations in the area.