Egypt Daily News – Israel announced that it had carried out “the largest air campaign in its history,” referring to more than 300 air sorties carried out by its fighters in Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime. According to field reports, the raids targeted the capabilities of the Syrian army, as the Israeli army announced that the Syrian air force and its air defenses had been almost eliminated, as well as a number of sites and strategic weapons depots belonging to the Syrian army.
Reports also revealed the continued incursion of Israeli army forces into Syrian territory, as they were reported to have reached a number of areas in the Damascus countryside.
Israeli raids continued to target various sites belonging to the Syrian army, as it was reported that new sites were targeted in the vicinity of Damascus, as part of a large-scale military campaign launched by Israel immediately after the fall of the Assad regime.
Israeli Army Radio quoted a security source as saying, “We carried out the largest air operation in our history, during which the capabilities of the Syrian army were destroyed,” as the raids targeted airports, fighter jets, ships, and strategic installations throughout the entire area of Syria.
According to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, during that operation Israel destroyed advanced air defense systems, surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air systems, and anti-aircraft systems.
News about the arrival of the Israeli army in the Damascus countryside
With these developments, the Israeli army penetrated into Syria on Tuesday, to a distance of about 20 km southwest of Damascus, according to Reuters.
A Syrian security source explained that Israeli forces arrived in the Qatana area, which is located 10 km inside Syrian territory, east of the demilitarized zone, which separates the occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
An Israeli army spokesman denied that Israeli forces had penetrated into Syrian territory outside the buffer zone with the Golan Heights. The spokesman said, “This is not true. The forces did not leave the buffer zone.”
Israel had previously announced that it had informed Washington of its intention to introduce forces into Syrian territory, and the United States did not express any opposition, according to what the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported.
