Syria | Bashar al Assad | Why Israel has occupied the Golan and is carrying out hundreds of airstrikes after the fall of the dictator

Until Thursday, Israel had carried out more than 350 bombings in 13 provinces of Syria. There was also occupied 300 square kilometers of Syrian territory according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The operation has been named by the Israeli military as Arrow of Bashan after the biblical name of the region of the Golan Heights and the south of Syria.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that In just two days it bombed “most of the strategic weapons arsenals in Syria preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements.”

While on Thursday, the army reported that in recent weeks, and given the foreseeable fall in Al Assad regimeIsrael designed a intelligence plan to destroy advanced and strategic weapons of that country.

He added that one of the objectives of the plan was air defense system Syriaconsidered by Israel as one of the strongest in the Middle East. The “T4” and “Ble” air baseslocated north of Damascus. Israel maintained that there were fighter squadrons in these places, as well as a missile and rocket warehouse.

The army of Israel reported having also attacked weapons factories in the city of Homsin the center of Syriaincluding the main production factory of scud missilesas well as 90% of the country’s strategic weapons.

Israel also attacked Syria’s naval fleet in the ports of Al Bayda y Latakiadestroying numerous warships.

The Russian media outlet Sputnik reported that IDF destroyed radar systems outside Tartuswhere an important Russian naval base is located.

Troops in the Golan Heights

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahuconfirmed that His troops had taken control of the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heightsthus expanding the extent of the Syrian territory it occupies in this region since the 1967 Six Day War. He assured that this deployment responds to the security needs of his country.

“Israel will not allow jihadist groups to fill that vacuum (of power in Syria) and threaten Israeli communities in the Golan Heights with attacks in the style of October 7”he added.

According to him Institute for the Study of War (ISW), The IDF encountered no resistance when it took Syrian outposts outside the separation zone in Syria. An Israeli Army Radio correspondent reported on December 11 that the IDF’s 101st Parachute Battalion did not fire a single bullet in the action. Syrian soldiers had abandoned their positions amid the collapse of the Assad regime.

Israeli media also reported that IDF seized several former Syrian army tanks in the separation zone. The Army Radio correspondent added that the forces deployed on the Syrian front They are preparing for a “long stay in the field.”

Local Syrian media stated that The IDF had paved a road that extended outside the buffer zonefrom the Golan Heights to Marbah, in the western province of Daraa.

“Israel already occupies between 280 and 300 square kilometers of Syrian territoryadjacent to the Golan Heights busy”said the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, in a telephone conversation with the EFE agency.

He explained that this territory borders the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israelestablished under an agreement under the auspices of the United Nations to separate the Syrian and Israeli armies after the 1973 war, and since 1974 it has been patrolled by a UN peacekeeping force.

Are Israel’s attacks justified?

Carlos Novoa journalist specializing in Middle Eastern issues, told The Commerce that with respect to the Israeli attacksit must be kept in mind that this is a small country that is surrounded by Muslim Arab nations, and that Syria has never been an ally of Israelbecause they have pending issues such as the Golan Heights.

“The issue is that for Israelin one way or another, the regime of Al Assad It was significant in the sense that he controlled everything by force. Today the rebels who caused the fall of Al Assad are followers of what he was Al Qaeda in Syria. “That is a bigger threat to the Israelis,” Novoa stated.

With respect to the Golan HeightsNovoa indicated that Israel has double talksince he has already said that it belongs to him.

“They have had it since 1967, they have not returned it. It is a strategic area from which the north of Israel could be invaded. It’s a water area, so everything is meaningful to them. But they have also said that in the event of a possible negotiation they could give in. But that is very far from happening.”Novoa indicated.

Andrés Gómez de la Torrea specialist in Defense and Intelligence issues, told The Commerce what Syria has been a long-standing ally of the former Soviet Union since the Cold War, and that is why has received a lot of military support even in the postwar period.

“What is the summary of the Bashan Arrow military operation? From the Israeli perspective, its defense forces seek to neutralize any possibility that the remnants of the Syrian army’s weapons stock will fall into the hands of rebel militias, especially pro-Iranian ones.highlighted Gómez de la Torre.

“It must be emphasized that Syrian Army’s military arsenal includes Scud surface-to-surface missiles Russian-made. “Everything indicates that between 70% and 80% percent of the Syrian army’s conventional and rocket weapons have been neutralized or destroyed.”he noted.

Regarding whether Israel could annex more Syrian territory, Gómez de la Torre considered that it is still premature to know.

“Rather, one can speak of provisionally demilitarized zones for, as you have expressed Israelestablish security zones. “It will depend a lot on the evolution of the conflict and on who can finally really exercise power in Syria to know the attitude that Israel takes regarding the annexation or control of new territories,” said the analyst.