An Israeli military incursion into Syria reached about 26 kilometers southwest of Damascus, Syrian security sources said Tuesday, after Israel seized a buffer zone in southern Syria and launched airstrikes on Syrian army and air bases overnight.
The Israeli military operation in Syria comes two days after the lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by a rebel alliance left Syrians, regional countries and world powers nervous about what happens next.
A Syrian security source said Israeli troops had reached Qatana, which is six miles from Syrian territory east of a demilitarized zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
The Israeli military declined to comment.
Israel has said it will not get involved in the conflict in Syria and that its seizure of the buffer zone was a defensive measure.
Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia condemned the incursion. Saudi Arabia said the move would “ruin Syria’s chances of restoring security.”
Regional security sources and officers of the now-deposed Syrian army said heavy Israeli airstrikes continued overnight against military installations and air bases across Syria, destroying dozens of helicopters and planes, as well as Republican Guard assets in and around Damascus.
The approximate toll of 200 raids left nothing of the Syrian army’s resources, they say.
Israel said its airstrikes would continue for several days, but told the U.N. Security Council it was not intervening in the Syrian conflict. He said he had taken “limited and temporary measures” only to protect his safety.
The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors Monday evening, and diplomats said they were still in shock at how quickly Assad’s overthrow happened in 12 days, after 13 years of war civil society remained in an impasse.
“Everyone was surprised, everyone, including the council members. So we have to wait, see and observe… and assess how the situation will develop,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the body’s meeting.
Russia has played a major role in supporting Assad’s government and helping it fight rebels. The Syrian leader fled Damascus for Moscow on Sunday, ending more than 50 years of his family’s brutal rule.
With the mood in Damascus still celebratory, Assad’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Jalali, agreed on Monday to hand over power to the rebel-led Salvation Government, an administration based in rebel-controlled territory in northwest Syria.
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Top rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, met with Jalali and Vice President Faisal Mekdad to discuss the transitional government, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Jalali said the transfer could take days.
Al Jazeera television reported that the transitional authority would be led by Mohamed al-Bashir, who led the salvation government.
The steamroller advance of the militia alliance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, represented a generational turning point for the Middle East.
The civil war that began in 2011 has killed hundreds of thousands of people, sparked one of the largest refugee crises in modern times and left cities destroyed by bombing, countryside depopulated and an economy gutted by global sanctions. .
But the rebel alliance has not communicated plans for Syria’s future, and there is no model for such a transition in the restive region.
Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday, partly due to concerns that instability in Syria, which is not a major oil producer, could increase regional tensions, analysts said.
“This is an incredible moment for the Syrian people,” U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said in New York. “We’re really focused right now trying to see where the situation is going. Can there be a government authority in Syria that respects the rights and dignity of the Syrian population?
The United States is seeking ways to engage with Syrian rebel groups and reaching out to partners in the region, such as Turkey, to begin informal diplomacy, Washington said.
Qatari diplomats spoke to HTS on Monday, an official briefed on the developments told Reuters, as regional states rush to open contact with the group.
There were tentative signs of a return to order. Syrian banks will reopen on Tuesday and the Oil Ministry called on all employees in the sector to go to work on Tuesday, adding that protection would be provided to ensure their safety.
Reuters journalists saw four minibuses arrive at the Central Bank of Syria, with employees disembarking and entering the building for their first day of work since the fall of Assad.
“It’s a new change, it’s a new day, a new year, a new life,” Sumayra al-Mukli said.
Golani has pledged to rebuild Syria and HTS has spent years trying to soften its image to reassure foreign nations and minority groups in Syria.
But fears of reprisals remain. HTS said it would not hesitate to hold to account security and army officers involved in the torture of the Syrian people, describing them as criminals and murderers.
“We will publish a list including the names of the highest officials involved in the torture of the Syrian people,” Golani said in a statement. “Rewards will be offered to those who provide information on senior military and security officers involved in war crimes. »
HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by many states and the UN, and its governance powers are uncertain.
“Syrians look forward to establishing a state of freedom, equality, rule of law and democracy, and we will join forces to rebuild our country, rebuild what has been destroyed and rebuild the future, a better future for Syria,” the Syrian UN said. Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak told reporters.
