Over the weekend, the Syrian government was toppled and rebels took power over the country.
The rebel groups were led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is classified by Australia as a terrorist organisation.
In the wake of rebels seizing power, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed they’ve launched over 350 strikes on military infrastructure in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it is designed to ensure military capability “will not fall into the hands of the jihadists”.
Recap
Over the weekend, a group of rebels led by HTS overthrew the Syrian government and ended the Assad family’s 54-year rule.
HTS was set up as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda. The former leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was also involved in the creation of this group. It has since cut ties with Al-Qaeda and is now the most powerful force in Syria.
HTS-led forces have appointed the country’s new interim Prime Minister.
Israel
The Syrian army has traditionally been backed by both Iran and Russia. When rebels overthrew the government, the Syrian army collapsed.
Shortly after this happened, Netanyahu said he had ordered the IDF to take over the Syrian army’s posts on the other side of a UN-monitored buffer zone, which he said had been abandoned.
The buffer zone was established in 1974 following a war.
Netanyahu said this was to “ensure no hostile force” accessed Israel’s border with Syria.
The IDF also confirmed it had struck over 350 military targets belonging to the Syrian army. There were no casualties in these airstrikes.
UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir O. Pedersen said that Israel “needs to stop.”
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the IDF’s airstrikes as trying to “destroy all weapons… of the army of future Syria.”
The U.S. also launched strikes on Syria this week, destroying 75 targets it says were controlled by Islamic State.
