Israeli ground forces crossed the demilitarized zone on the Israel-Syria border, marking their first entry into Syrian territory since the 1973 October War.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 8, 2024
Israeli forces invaded Mount Hermon on the Syrian side and other strategic locations. pic.twitter.com/iYObcC1Txv
As Assad falls, Israeli jets destroy his deadly arsenals before they fall to rebels
[IsraelTimes] Multiple IAF strikes target missile depots, air defenses, chemical sites amid fears advanced arms could fall into hands of hostile groups; IDF seizes buffer zone, in first since 1974
Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Sunday struck dozens of targets across Syria, taking out weaponry that Israel feared could fall into the hands of hostile forces, in light of the dramatic fall of the Bashir al-Assad regime some two weeks into a lightning offensive by rebel groups.
Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces seized control of a buffer zone between the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights, in what it described as a temporary defensive measure.
Dozens of IAF aircraft struck numerous targets, with a focus on destroying "strategic weapons," defense sources told The Times of Israel, describing the strikes as "very intensive."
The weapons hit by the warplanes included advanced missile storage sites, air defense systems, and weapon production facilities, according to the defense sources. Israel also struck a chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented...
site overnight Saturday-Sunday, according to foreign reports.
The Assad regime, which fell on Sunday after a lightning offensive by rebel forces, was an ally of the Iranian regime, and a part of its so-called Axis of Resistance® against Israel. For many years, Syria was used as a throughway for Iranian weapons, en route to terror groups including Hezbollah in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers..., with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month.
Israel struck at least seven targets in southwest Syria on Sunday, two regional security sources told Rooters.
They included the Khalkhala air base north of Sweida city, which Syrian army troops withdrew from Saturday night. The regional sources said the army left behind a large stockpile of missiles, air defense batteries, and munitions, that were hit on Sunday.
Strikes at the Mezzeh airbase in Damascus targeted other ammunition depots, the sources told Rooters. Footage posted to social media purported to show the large Israeli
...
KABOOM!...
s targeting the Mezzeh airbase. The videos showed heavy bombardment of the airbase.
Later, Israel conducted another wave of at least three airstrikes in the Syrian capital, targeting a security complex and a government research center, the sources told Rooters. Those strikes caused extensive damage to the main customs headquarters and buildings adjoining the military intelligence offices within the security complex, in the Kafr Sousa district of Damascus, the sources said, where Israel previously said Iranian scientists were developing missiles. The research facility was also damaged, a source said.
One of the regional sources said the strikes hit infrastructure used to store sensitive military data, equipment, and guided missile parts.
Strikes were also reported in the Daraa and Suwayda Governorates, in southern Syria, according to local media.
PROTECTING THE BORDER
The IDF, meanwhile, issued an "urgent warning" to residents of several Syrian villages close to the Israeli border, during operations in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria.
"The fighting in your area is forcing the IDF to act and we do not intend to harm you," Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language front man said on X. "For your safety, you must stay at home and not go out until further notice."
The warning was issued to residents of Ofaniya, Quneitra, al-Hamidiyah, Samdaniya al-Gharbiyya, and al-Qahtaniyah, all close to the Israeli border.
The IDF on Sunday seized control of the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, stressing that it was a defensive and temporary measure, given the chaos in the country following the fall of the Assad regime. It marked the first time since the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement was signed following the Yom Kippur War that Israeli forces took up positions inside the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, though the IDF entered the zone briefly on several occasions in the past.
"We are acting first and foremost to protect our border," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the Golan Heights. "This area has been controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone, agreed upon in 1974, the Separation of Forces Agreement. This agreement has collapsed, the Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions."
According to the military, Israeli troops were deployed to specific strategic positions in the buffer zone to prevent unidentified button men from being in the area.
Israel notified the US prior to taking control of the zone, Axios reported Sunday evening, telling the Biden administration it was a temporary move, to last only a few days or up to a few weeks.
The IDF said the deployment was carried out in coordination with the United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which is tasked with the buffer zone. UNDOF members were, as of Sunday, staying in their positions.
The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday that the government was considering deepening the area of IDF control further into the Golan Heights, "before someone else enters the vacuum that’s created," citing an unnamed source familiar with the subject.
Included in the existing movements in the zone, troops from the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag Unit seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Sunday — located some 10 kilometers from the border — facing no resistance during the operation. An image circulating on social media Sunday, and widely published in Hebrew media, appeared to show a group of IDF soldiers holding an Israeli flag on the mountain peak.
Reports: Fresh Israeli airstrikes in Da’ara in southern Syria overnight Monday morning
[IsraelTimes] Syrian media report fresh Israeli strikes in Da’ara in southern Syria, after a stunning rebel advance took over the capital of Damascus yesterday and ended the Assad family’s five decades of iron rule.
Unverified footage of the strikes posted to social media appears to show secondary explosions, indicating that weapons were stored in the buildings targeted.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck dozens of targets across Syria yesterday, taking out weaponry that Israel feared could fall into the hands of hostile forces, in light of the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The Israeli military also took up new positions in a buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights as it prepared for potential chaos.
تغطية صحفية: لحظة شن طائرات الاحتلال غارات على مدينة درعا السورية ومحيطها pic.twitter.com/udYN2eUDco
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 9, 2024
IDF says it has killed some 25 Hezbollah members who violated Lebanon ceasefire
[IsraelTimes] Since the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the IDF says it has killed some 25 Hezbollah operatives who were violating the truce.
Several dozen Hezbollah positions were also hit since the ceasefire took effect. Under the agreement, Hezbollah must withdraw from southern Lebanon.
The IDF is still deployed to southern Lebanon, and it has until late January to withdraw under the ceasefire deal. During that time, the Lebanese army will gradually take responsibility for southern Lebanon and an American-led committee that will adjudicate complaints regarding potential ceasefire violations will be established.