Egypt Daily News – On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Katz warned Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shara of threatening its security and interests, stating that he would pay a “heavy price” if he allowed hostile forces to enter Syria.
Israel carried out airstrikes within Syria targeting sites near Damascus and Hama, resulting in at least four fatalities, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Israeli army confirmed it targeted “military capabilities” at the Hama and T4 airports, as well as other sites around the capital. In the south, authorities in Daraa reported Israeli military incursions, amidst international warnings of the risk of further escalation in the region. Israel also accused Ankara of attempting to make Syria a Turkish protectorate.
On Wednesday night, Israel announced airstrikes on sites in Syria, targeting the area around a scientific research center north of Damascus and regions near the city of Hama in central Syria. The Israeli army confirmed in an official statement that it struck “military capabilities,” while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported four deaths due to an attack on Hama military airport.
Israeli Warning
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara that he would face severe consequences if Israel’s security was threatened. Katz said in a statement, “I warn the Syrian leader al-Golani: If you allow hostile forces to enter Syria and threaten Israeli security interests, you will pay a heavy price,” addressing the Syrian president by his former alias “Abu Mohamed al-Golani.”
These airstrikes come at a time when information from the Observatory suggests that Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on military sites belonging to the former regime in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, indicating an escalation in Israeli military actions inside Syrian territory.
Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported that “Israeli occupation aircraft” carried out an airstrike on the area around the scientific research building in the Masaken Barzeh neighborhood in Damascus, as well as another near Hama city.
The Israeli army explained that it targeted military capabilities at the Hama base and T4 airport (T4) in the Homs countryside, in addition to other military facilities around Damascus, vowing to confront any threat to its citizens.
The Syrian Observatory reported the deaths of four individuals in the strike on Hama military airport, including personnel likely belonging to the Syrian Ministry of Defense. According to the Observatory, the strikes focused on the airport’s runways, aircraft, and control towers, completely disabling the airport’s operations. The Observatory also noted that the scientific research center in the Barzeh neighborhood and the area around T4 military airport in the Homs countryside were targeted.
Following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Israel carried out military operations within the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights adjacent to the part it occupies of the Syrian plateau, coinciding with official statements rejecting the presence of security forces from the new Syrian authorities along the border.
Authorities in Daraa province reported on Wednesday night via Telegram that Israeli military vehicles had entered the al-Jabalieh forest west of the province, and there was heavy reconnaissance aircraft activity in the area. Artillery shells were also fired from the Israeli side toward the slopes of Tell al-Joumh near the town of Nawa in the western Daraa countryside, according to the same source.
The Syrian Observatory confirmed repeated Israeli military incursions in southern Syria, sometimes crossing into the demilitarized zone.
Last month, the EU’s foreign policy chief, during her visit to Jerusalem, warned that Israeli strikes on sites in Syria could lead to “further escalation” in the region. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Israel of carrying out military campaigns aimed at undermining local stability.
A Turkish Protectorate in Syria?
Expressing Israel’s concerns over Turkish influence in a post-Assad Syria, Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Sa’ar accused Ankara of playing a “negative role” there, in Lebanon, and other areas.
In a press conference in Paris, he said, “They are doing their utmost to make Syria a Turkish protectorate. It is clear this is their intention.”
