The Israeli army said that it had struck sites in southern Syria on Tuesday, just hours after the new Syrian management demanded that Israel withdraw from the territory which it has grasped since the fall of the regime of ‘Assad.
The attacks were intended for “military targets in southern Syria, including the headquarters and the sites containing weapons,” the Israeli army said in a statement. He added: “The presence of military assets and forces in the southern part of Syria constitutes a threat” for Israeli citizens.
Israel Katz, the Israeli Defense Minister, said in a statement on Tuesday that attacks were part of a “new policy” to ensure a “southern demilitarized in Syria”. He added that “any attempt” of the Syrian forces or militant groups to establish a presence in what Israel considered his “security zone” in the region “will be greeted by fire”.
This policy was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in a demanding speech “complete demilitarization” in southern Syria. The speech and actions of Israel attracted the conviction of the new Syrian government on Tuesday.
The acting president of the country, Ahmed Al-Shara, chaired Tuesday a national conference on unity which aimed to establish a consensus in the political and economic future of the country. He concluded with a declaration describing the Israeli incursions to Syria and rejecting “the provocative declarations of the Israeli Prime Minister”.
The new Syrian government has said that Israel violated Syria’s sovereignty and a long -standing agreement, and called on the international community to put Israel to put pressure on the assault. “
Israel has struck in Syria since before the fall of the country’s longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad, saying that he was aiming to brake the flow of arms and silver from Iran to the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Since the rebel alliance led by Mr. Al-Shara ousted Mr. Al-Assad and that Mr. Al-Shara became the head of Syria, Israel seized a territory near their common border and attacked the assets military.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war surveillance group based in Great Britain, said on Tuesday that Israeli forces have struck in Syria 16 times this year. Most of the attacks were carried out by the Air Force and two were strikes on the ground, the observatory said.
While Israeli leaders have shown it for months, they intend to stay in the border regions in what is supposed to be a buffer area supervised by international peacekeepers, their declarations on a southern demilitarized Syria represent an escalation that has increased tensions in Syria.
Mr. Netanyahu, in his speech, distinguished three provinces in southern Syria, affirming that Israel would not tolerate Syrian forces in Quneitra, Dara’a and Sweida. Tuesday, the state news agency of Syria reported demonstrations in Sweida In response to these declarations and Israeli actions. Syrian information media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights demonstrations Against Israeli actions in the other two provinces on Monday and Tuesday.
Israel has invaded border villages in Syria after the Assad regime was overthrown in what he described as temporary measures to protect his own security. But the Israeli raids continued in January and February, making the Syrians fear that the incursions could become prolonged military occupation.
The government of Mr. Al-Shara seeks to create a national army to absorb the many militias in Syria, but some resist the support and control of territories and significant resources such as agricultural land and oil. Israeli actions and statements have been considered by some Syrians as a try to sow other divisions and prevent national unity.
The United Nations and some Member States have declared that Israel violated a ceasefire for several decades between Syria and Israel by sending its troops inside and beyond the buffer zone, which was created in a Resolution of the 1974 Security Council following a war between the two nations.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army also said that it had struck in Lebanon, attacking the people he identified as activists who, according to him, operated in a production and weapon storage installation in Hezbollah. The Lebanon Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, said that two people had been killed and that three were injured.
Israel has been fighting on several fronts since October 7, 2023, the attack led by Hamas sparked a war in Gaza and prompted Hezbollah to shoot rockets and drones in northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel and Lebanon have concluded a cease-fire agreement at the end of November, but Israel continued to attack what he said about hezbollah targets and activists since then.
Israel and Gaza are towards the end of the first phase of a ceasefire. As part of this agreement, the hostages taken by Hamas during the initial attack were exchanged for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Late Tuesday, Hamas said the mediators had entered into an agreement on the release of Palestinian prisoners who were to be released on Saturday.
Israel had delayed the release suddenly after the release of six Israeli hostages, saying that he would wait for Hamas to have committed to release them without “humiliating ceremonies”. Israeli The media reported Shortly after midnight Tuesday, the local time that the release will take place within 24 hours, Hamas at the same time transferring the bodies of four hostages who died in Egypt.
Raja Abdulrahim And Johnatan Reiss Contributed reports.
