BEIRUT, March 11. /TASS/. Israeli fighter jets have attacked the base of the Syrian army’s 89th tank brigade north of the city of Daraa some 110 kilometers south of Damascus, Syria TV reported.Apart from that, Israel hit positions of the Syrian army near the city of Ezraa some 65 kilometers from the Syrian capital, where missile and electronic warfare systems were deployed. An air raid was also conducted on the field camp of the 12th tank regiment, wiping out a command center, munitions and fuels depots.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 23 that Israel will not tolerate the presence of Syria’s new authorities south of Damascus and demanded that Syrian southern regions be totally demilitarized. He also said that Israel will continue controlling a number of border areas for an indefinite period.
Armed opposition units in Syria launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates in late November 2024. On December 8, they entered Damascus, while President Bashar Assad stepped down and fled the country. On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officially announced the deployment of forces in the demilitarized zone separating the Golan Heights, which belong to Israel, and Syria. Later in the day, the Israeli military took control over the eastern part of Mount Hermon that lies within Syria, part of the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a purely defensive step to thwart potential threats from Syria’s territory. However, he stressed that Israel will stay in this area as long as it takes to ensure security of its border.