Israel intensifies Syria invasion, advances near Damascus 

Israeli forces have conducted nearly 300 air raids on Syria within 48 hours, targeting military sites across the country and significantly weakening the Syrian Air Force, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Overnight, the Israeli air force launched attacks on Salamiyah in Hama’s eastern countryside and the Shayrat airbase in Homs. Strikes also hit military installations in Raqqa’s northern region, bringing the reported total to 250 raids.

Israel has just taken land in Syria up to twice the size of the Gaza strip and Israeli tanks are within 30 miles of Damascus and possibly closer.
Yet HTS has not fired one single shot at an Israeli soldier.
If that doesn’t make you understand what happened, nothing will.

— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) December 10, 2024

On the ground, Israeli tanks advanced past Quneitra into Damascus’s countryside, positioning just three kilometres from Qatna and 20 kilometres from the capital. Local sources confirmed the occupation of multiple towns, including Aarna, Hinah and Al-Husseiniyah in Damascus’s southern countryside.

This escalation follows the collapse of President Bashar Al-Assad’s government, ousted on Sunday after a rapid two-week offensive by foreign-backed rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). Israel seized the opportunity to expand its occupation, capturing the Golan Heights buffer zone in violation of a 1974 disengagement agreement. The strategic Mount Hermon in Golan, a critical vantage point, also fell under the occupation state’s control.

Israel seizes Mount Hermon, the highest point in Syria

Israeli occupation forces have seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, the strategic mountain overlooking the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Damascus area.

Israel is moving its forces deeper into… pic.twitter.com/O68bNb4MBo

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) December 10, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Syrian Golan Heights will remain part of Israel “for eternity.” Israel’s invasion and occupation has drawn condemnation from several regional states and resistance movements. HTS has yet to release a statement on the issue.

READ: Thousands return to Syria after fall of Assad regime