Israel’s Defense Minister Katz confirmed today that Israeli Navy missile ships carried out a “large-scale operation” against the Syrian fleet.
“The Israeli military has in recent days carried out operations in Syria to strike and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the state of Israel. The Navy executed an operation last night to destroy the Syrian fleet with great success,” Katz said during a visit to a naval base in Haifa.
The Israeli military has hit at least six Syrian navy ships in an attack on the Syrian port of Latakia, British marine insurance company Ambrey said today.
Ambrey says the video shows one navy ship sinking and five others sunk, with no visible damage to port infrastructure.
A Syrian security source told Reuters on Monday that Israel’s military had targeted an air defense installation near Lattakia. The attack was carried out after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.
🇮🇱🇸🇾‼️🚨 Israel devastated the Syrian navy in Latakia. pic.twitter.com/UJPf0FNeXE
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 10, 2024
Invasion of Syria
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have asked the military to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
“Together with the prime minister, I asked the military to establish a demilitarized zone and no terrorist threats in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence,” Katz said during a visit to a naval base in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
He did not specify exactly where this zone will be created but added that the goal is to “prevent the organization of terrorism in Syria.”
Citing three security sources, Reuters reports that the Israelis are attempting to invade Syria and are moving southwest of Damascus after Israel captured a buffer zone in southern Syria and launched airstrikes on the Syrian army and air bases overnight.
According to reports, Israeli troops have reached Qatana, which is six miles inside Syrian territory east of a demilitarized zone that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
Russian ships off the coast of Syria
Satellite images show Russian navy ships have left the Russian base in Tartus off the Syrian coast and some of the ships have dropped anchor offshore after rebel forces toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
An image taken on December 9 by Planet Labs shows at least three ships of the Russian Mediterranean fleet, including two guided-missile frigates and an oil tanker, anchored about eight miles northwest of Tartus. The rest of the fleet could not be immediately located by satellite imagery.
In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Moscow – an ally of the Assad regime for decades – is now trying to reach an agreement with the rebels to guarantee the security of two strategically important military bases.
Russia has the Khmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia province and a naval base in Tartus on the coast.
The facility in Tartus is Russia’s only repair and supply hub in the Mediterranean, and Moscow has used Syria as a staging post for its military’s external partners to and from Africa.
Previously, Russia had five surface ships and one submarine in Tartus, according to an analysis of satellite images by BlackSky and Planet Labs.
The G7 on Syria
G7 leaders will meet via video call on Friday to discuss the situation in Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, a US official said.
“Syria will be among the issues to be discussed,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
In addition to the US, the G7 includes France, Canada, Germany, Britain, Japan and Italy, which also holds the rotating presidency of the Group until the end of the year.
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