Israel launches raids in Syria amid accusations of violating the ceasefire

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had carried out “operational raids” in recent weeks on Mount Hermon in Syria, continuing its military campaign on Syrian territory that has drawn growing international condemnation.

On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitor based in Britain, reported air strikes around the Syrian capital, Damascus. They were attributed to the Israeli army. The Observatory said the strikes targeted an ammunition depot used by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in an attack by opposition fighters last month. The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the air strikes.

Israel’s ongoing military operations in Syria, which it said on Sunday were aimed at “strengthening the defense of Israel’s citizens,” have sparked accusations from the United Nations and some member states that Israel is violating a decades-long ceasefire by sending its troops. Inside and outside the buffer zone between the two countries.

These raids come just days after a statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. He said he met With members of the United Nations peacekeeping mission on the border between Syria and Israel. United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, known as Disengagement Observation ForceIt was established by the Security Council in 1974 to maintain a ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces after the 1973 war and to oversee the buffer zone created by the agreement.

After rebel forces in Syria last month suddenly ousted the Assad regime, Israeli ground forces advanced in and out of the demilitarized zone. Marking their first public entry It entered the country half a century ago, prompting UN Secretary-General António Guterres to denounce the Israeli invasion. Violations of the 1974 Convention.

Mr. Saar said in a statement that “extremist armed groups” attacked peacekeepers in the buffer zone, violating the ceasefire. UNDOF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these allegations.

The Israeli attacks in Syria complicate a situation there that is already very complex, as the new Syrian leadership attempts to rebuild a country destroyed by more than a decade of civil war and gain international recognition.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the rebel commander who led the coalition that ousted Mr. Assad and who has assumed interim leadership of the country, criticized the Israeli military’s actions in Syria in an interview with the New York Times and other media outlets in December. Shortly after assuming power. He said that Syria would continue to adhere to the 1974 ceasefire agreement, and called on the international community to ensure that Israel adheres to it as well.

But Israel has repeatedly indicated that it plans to remain in Syria for however long it deems necessary. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Visit December In Mount Hermon, which Israeli forces captured last month, he said they would remain in the country “until another arrangement is reached that guarantees Israel’s security.”

His Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, who accompanied the Prime Minister on the visit. He said The Israeli military presence there constitutes “a deterrent against the rebels in Damascus, who claim to present a moderate face but are among the most extremist Islamic movements.”

Mr. Shara’s rebel faction Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, once linked to al-Qaeda, broke away from the group in 2017. The United States, the United Nations and others have designated it as a terrorist organization, but some countries say they may consider lifting that designation. They say the decision will depend on whether there is a democratic transition in Syria and whether rebel leaders show respect for minorities.

In recent weeks, Mr. Al-Sharaa has sought to present himself as a diplomat focused on rebuilding his country, meeting with officials from the United States as well as officials from Europe and the Middle East.

There are some indications that the new Syrian government will welcome relations with Israel as well. The new governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan Interview with NPR In late December, she called on the United States to use its influence over Israel to encourage the establishment of diplomatic relations.

But for now, Israel seems more focused on military action.

Aside from encroaching Israeli ground forces in Syria, the Israeli military has also launched extensive airstrikes there, war observers say, before and after Mr. Assad’s fall. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, in a report on Thursday, that it documented more than… 370 Israeli attacks in Syria Last year, most of them came in recent weeks.