Israel Launches Hundreds of Attacks on Syrian Heavy Arms, Chemical Weapons

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched hundreds of attacks on Syrian heavy weaponry and suspected chemical weapons facilities in the 24 hours since the fall of the Assad regime, as Israeli soldiers moved into Syrian territory.

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country for Russia early Sunday morning as rebel forces, including Islamists, began moving into the capital city of Damascus. Russia and Iran were unwilling, or unable, to come to Assad’s aid.

Israel soon moved troops into the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria, on Syrian territory, to deter Syrian rebels from attacking. It also occupied the peak of Mount Hermon, the highest in the region, on Syrian territory.

In addition, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) began launching hundreds of sorties, flying over Syrian territory at will and taking out any hardware left by the deserting Syrian army that might pose a threat. Some speculated that Israel was also removing any air defenses that might prevent it from flying over Syrian territory to strike Iran’s nuclear program.

Reuters reported (via the Jerusalem Post):

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would “destroy heavy strategic weapons throughout Syria, including surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets, and coastal missiles.”

A senior Israeli official said airstrikes would persist in the coming days, while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had no interest in interfering in internal Syrian affairs and was concerned only with defending its citizens.

“That’s why we attack strategic weapons systems like, for example, remaining chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets in order that they will not fall into the hands of extremists,” Sa’ar told reporters in Jerusalem.

Some have suggested that Israel move Syrian weapons to the Kurds, who are under attack from Syrian rebels and Turkish forces near Syria’s northern border. Israel has expressed concern about the fate of the Kurds, and is also considering steps to protect the minority Druze and Christian communities of Syria, which may be newly vulnerable.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer noted Monday that Israel was discussing the protection of the Kurds with the U.S., especially in the wake of rebel attacks on Kurdish communities. He said that Kurdish forces had “fought bravely” against ISIS, and that they could be a “stabilizing” presence in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime.

He also said that while Israel was under “no illusion” about the nature of the new rulers of Syria, it hoped that they shared a desire to build a better future for the region. If not, he said, Israel would be prepared to protect itself.

The war continues on other fronts. A drone fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen hit an apartment building in the Israeli city of Yavneh, causing damage but no injuries; an Israeli jet scrambled to intercept it but was too late to stop it.

Four Israeli reservists were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday in an accident in which a stockpile of Hezbollah weapons seized during the two-month operation there detonated without warning. An investigation is under way.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.