Israel has confirmed that it has hit out extensive strikes on the naval fleet of Syria, as part of its efforts to demolish military assets in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad regime.
In a statement issued by Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, It confirmed that the Israeli ships attacked the ports at Al Bayda and Latakia on Monday night. In this strike 15 vessels were docked.
According to the IDF, Israeli warplanes had conducted over 350 air strikes on targets across Syria. This attack came within hours after the fall of Bashar al Assad regime.
The BBC has verified visuals broadcasting blasts at the port of Latakia, with videos appearing to show massive damage to ships and parts of the port.
As reported by the BBC, earlier the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) emphasised that it had documented more than 310 strikes by the IDF ever since the Syrian government was collapsed by the HTS on Sunday.
In a statement, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said and the BBC reported, the IDF was aiming to “destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel.”
He added that the operation to destroy the Syrian fleet had been a “great success”.
Meanwhile, in a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would “”respond forcefully” if they allow Iran to “re-establish itself in Syria”.
However, Netanyahu has previously indicated a willingness to establish peaceful relations with Syria’s new government, framing Israel’s military actions as defensive in nature.
On Monday, Netanyahu described the IDF’s capture of Syrian positions in the buffer zone as a “temporary defensive measure” until a more permanent solution can be reached.
“If we can establish neighbourly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel,” he had said.
In the early hours of Sunday (December 8) forces led by the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Damascus and in some time appeared on state television to declare that Syria was now “free”.
