Israel launched dozens of airstrikes in Syria overnight Saturday into Sunday despite the new de facto leader of the country, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, saying his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was not interested in a conflict with Israel.
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli warplanes carried out about 60 strikes on Syria within five hours, bringing the total number of Israeli attacks since the downfall of former President Bashar al-Assad to about 800.
Before Israel carried out its latest round of strikes, Julani, who has been going by his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, criticized Israel’s recent actions but said he didn’t want a fight.
“We are not about to engage in a conflict with Israel,” said Julani, who was the leader of al-Qaeda in Syria before rebranding his group and forming HTS in 2017. He said that Israel’s “arguments” for attacking Syria “no longer exist” because Iran and Hezbollah no longer have a foothold in the country.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem acknowledged on Sunday that the Lebanese group lost its supply lines in Syria due to the regime change. “Yes, Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria at this stage, but this loss is a detail in the resistance’s work,” he said.
While celebrating the downfall of Assad, Israel is also citing unspecified “threats” from Syria to justify its massive strikes and its invasion of southern Syria. Israel has taken over a buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syrian territory and is also capturing areas beyond the buffer zone.
Al Mayadeen reported on Sunday that Israeli troops are expanding their occupation of the southwestern province of Quneitra. The report said Israeli troops are only about 15 kilometers from Damascus.
