On Tuesday, December 10, Israel carried out a large-scale operation in Syria, launching around 300 targeted strikes that “ destroyed major military sites », according to information communicated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), cited by our colleagues from Figaro. These attacks targeted several strategic infrastructures, including airports, radar systems, arms and ammunition depots, as well as military research centers in several regions, including Damascus.
Syria, the destruction of chemical weapons to counter the rebel threat
In the northwest of the country, an air defense unit was also struck, damaging Syrian navy ships. The OSDH indicates that these strikes seek to “ destroy remaining weapons in warehouses and military units that were controlled by former regime forces ».
Gideon Saar denounces Islamist extremism
The day before, Israel had confirmed that it had recently destroyed “ chemical weapons » in Syria, in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of rebels after the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the takeover of certain areas by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, justified these actions by citing the risks posed by the insurgents, described as carriers “ of an extreme ideology of radical Islam “. He clarified: “ This is why we have attacked strategic weapons systems such as remnants of chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets, so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists ».
At the same time, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, leader of the rebels and former head of the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, is trying to cover his past radicalism with a more moderate posture. On Telegram, he strongly criticized the “ officials involved in torture against the Syrian people » and declared: “ We will pursue war criminals and demand that they be handed over by the countries they fled to so that they can receive their just punishment ».
According to the OSDH, since the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011, more than 100,000 people have died in the Syrian regime’s prisons, often under torture, highlighting the scale of human rights violations in the country.
Also read: Syria: French jihadists participated in the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime
