DAMASCUS – Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday, and the Israeli defense minister announced that his forces had destroyed Syria’s navy.
Israel acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. But it remained unclear if Israeli soldiers had gone beyond that area, which was established more than 50 years ago. Israel denied that it was advancing on the Syrian capital of Damascus.
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The Israeli military said Tuesday that it carried out more than 350 strikes in Syria over the last 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country to stop them from falling into the hands of extremists.
The targets included air defense systems, military airfields, missile depots and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus and other cities. Associated Press reporters in the capital heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday morning.
Israeli missile ships also simultaneously struck two Syrian navy facilities, where the military said 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked. Israel did not specify how many vessels it struck, but the private security firm Ambrey said it had seen evidence that at least six Soviet-era missile ships were hit.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel intended to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria.
Speaking at a navy base in Haifa, Katz said the army will create a “defense zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence, in order to prevent terrorism in Syria from taking root.”
He gave few details on what that entailed, but warned Syria’s rebels that “whoever follows Assad’s path will end up like Assad. We will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel.” Israel has also long warned that the Syria-Lebanon border could be used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah militants.
In an area where so many geopolitical lines are packed closely together, any military movement can spark regional fears. It is barely 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Damascus to the buffer zone, and only a few more miles to Israeli territory.
There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – that have taken control of much of the country. Their lightning advance brought an end to the Assad family’s half-century rule after nearly 14 years of civil war, leaving many questions about what comes next.
Members of the ousted Syrian government will gradually transfer power to a new transitional cabinet headed by Mohammed al-Bashir, who reportedly headed the rebel alliance's “salvation government” in its southwest Syrian stronghold.
Outgoing officials met for the first time Tuesday with al-Bashir, who told reporters that the transitional period would last until the beginning of March.
‘Damascus is more beautiful now’
Life in the capital is slowly returning to normal after the overthrow of Assad, who fled the country over the weekend and has been granted political asylum in Russia.
Private banks reopened on instructions from the central bank, said Sadi Ahmad, who runs a branch in the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighborhood. He said all his employees returned to work.
Shops also reopened in the city's ancient Hamidiyeh market, where armed men and civilians could be seen buying perfume and ice cream. A clothing shop owner, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said he hoped vendors would no longer have to pay bribes to security officials.
At Bakdash, a famous ice cream shop, a poster outside read: “Welcome to the rebels of free Syria. Long live free Syria.”
“Damascus is more beautiful now," said Maysoun Qurabi, who was shopping in the market. “It has a soul, and people feel at ease and secure.” Under Assad, she said, “people were hungry and scared. The regime was strong."
Syrians across the city celebrated the fall of Assad, and hoped for an end to the relentless bribery demands that governed much of life.
“We are happy to get rid of the corrupt regime," said Abdul-Jalil Diab, who was strolling through a square in western Damascus with his brothers. Diab said he was living in Jordan until the city fell, studying German in hopes of moving to Germany. Now he is reconsidering those plans.
“The whole country feels better,” he said.
But there were also signs of disorder. The United Nations said it is still receiving reports that humanitarian aid supplies were looted at U.N. warehouses and warehouses belonging to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, including around Damascus.
Israeli incursion draws condemnation
In the immediate aftermath of Assad's fall, Israeli forces moved into a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) buffer zone inside Syria that was established after the 1973 Mideast war, a move it said was taken to prevent attacks on its citizens.
Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with its neighbors and occupying it indefinitely, citing security concerns. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has closely tracked the conflict since the civil war erupted in 2011, said Israel has carried out more than 300 airstrikes across the country since the rebels overthrew Assad.
The Observatory, and Beirut-based Mayadeen TV, which has reporters in Syria, said Israeli troops are advancing up the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon and had come within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of Damascus, which the Israeli military denied.
Israel denies advancing toward Damascus
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said “reports circulating in the media about the alleged advancement of Israeli tanks towards Damascus are false.” He said Israeli troops are stationed within the buffer zone in order to protect Israel.
Israel's military had previously said troops would enter the buffer zone “and several other places necessary for its defense.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later confirmed the airstrikes, saying they aimed to destroy the toppled government’s leftover “military capabilities,” and said Israel wants relations with the new government in Syria. He spoke in a video statement recorded after his first day of testimony in his corruption trial.
Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law.
Turkey, which has been a main backer of the Syrian opposition to Assad, also condemned Israel’s advance. The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of “displaying a mentality of an occupier” at a time when the possibility of peace and stability had emerged in Syria.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said Israel's incursion constitutes a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement and called on both Israel and Syria to uphold it.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sarah El Deeb in Damascus, Syria, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP's Syria coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/syria