According to Syrian media reports, Israeli warplanes have conducted numerous attacks throughout Syria, including in the capital city of Damascus. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported over 100 strikes on military targets, with a research center suspected of being linked to chemical weapon production among the locations targeted. Israel has stated that the attacks are aimed at preventing weapons from falling into the hands of extremists after the overthrow of the Assad regime.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is convening to discuss the situation in Syria following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The SOHR has documented hundreds of Israeli air strikes in the past two days, including on a site in Damascus reportedly used by Iranian scientists for rocket development. These strikes coincide with the UN’s chemical watchdog warning Syrian authorities to secure suspected chemical weapon stockpiles.
Despite Syria signing the OPCW’s Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, concerns remain about the country’s chemical weapons capabilities. The OPCW and UN have destroyed declared chemical stockpiles, but chemical weapons attacks have persisted in Syria. The Israeli military has also taken action in the Golan Heights region, citing security reasons and emphasizing the defense of its citizens.
These developments come as Syrian rebel fighters, including the Islamist opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), captured Damascus and overthrew the Assad regime. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled the regime’s collapse as a historic event in the Middle East, expressing a willingness to establish peaceful relations with emerging forces in Syria. Israel’s presence in the buffer zone is described as temporary, pending a suitable arrangement for security along its borders. Miles de colonos israelíes ahora viven en la zona junto a unos 20,000 sirios, la mayoría de ellos drusos, que se quedaron después de que fuera capturada.
Los ataques israelíes en Siria no son nada nuevo. Anteriormente ha reconocido llevar a cabo cientos de ataques en los últimos años en objetivos en Siria que dice están vinculados a Irán y grupos armados aliados como Hezbollah.
Se informa que los ataques israelíes en Siria han sido más frecuentes desde el inicio de la guerra en Gaza en octubre de 2023, en respuesta a los ataques transfronterizos en el norte de Israel por parte de Hezbollah y otros grupos en Líbano y Siria.
El mes pasado, el Observatorio Sirio de Derechos Humanos (OSDH), un grupo de monitoreo con sede en el Reino Unido, informó que una serie de ataques alcanzaron un depósito de armas y otros lugares en y alrededor de una zona cerca de Palmira donde estaban familias de combatientes de milicias respaldadas por Irán, matando a 68 combatientes sirios y extranjeros.