Israel launches airstrikes to ‘demilitarize’ Syria — RT World News

On Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck several Syrian “command centers” and “sites containing weapons” in the town of Kiswah, south of Damascus, and in the southern province of Deraa, arguing that the presence of “military forces and assets in the southern part of Syria poses a threat to the citizens of Israel.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s spokesperson confirmed in a statement that the Israeli Air Force was “attacking strongly in southern Syria as part of the new policy we have defined to pacify southern Syria.”

“Any attempt by the Syrian regime forces and the country’s terrorist organizations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire,” Katz added.

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized power in Damascus in December after more than a decade of fighting against President Bashar al-Assad. The IDF used the opportunity to advance beyond its previous positions in the Golan Heights and seize the strategic Mount Hermon.

Netanyahu declared on Sunday that Israel would not allow HTS or the new Syrian army being formed to “enter the area south of Damascus.”

“We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Deraa, and Suweida from the forces of the new regime,” the Israeli prime minister stated in a speech to military cadets. “Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.”