Israel Assad's power is wavering: Syrian rebels continue to advance
The lightning offensive by the Islamist rebel alliance in Syria is putting increasing pressure on ruler Bashar al-Assad. After the fall of Aleppo, a city with over a million inhabitants, a decisive battle for the strategically important city of Homs is now imminent.
07.12.2024, 03:58
SDA
Syrian government troops have withdrawn from the metropolis of millions, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is monitoring the war in the country with a network of informants. However, militias loyal to the government are still stationed in Syria's third-largest city. The surprisingly rapid advance of the insurgents is also causing increasing concern for Israel.
On November 27, the civil war in Syria suddenly flared up again with the offensive by the Islamist alliance Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The alliance is aiming to overthrow the Syrian government. In addition to more than 200 villages and positions, the rebels recently captured the city of Hama. According to the United Nations, at least 370,000 people have been displaced since the civil war, which originally began in 2011, flared up again.
Insurgents take control of parts of Daraa
Meanwhile, rebel groups also continued their advances in southern Syria. According to activists, insurgents there took control of large parts of the symbolic Daraa governorate. The first anti-government protests in Syria before the start of the civil war took place in the city of Daraa in March 2011. They were triggered by the arrest of young people who had painted anti-government graffiti on walls.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that local opposition groups had now taken control of around 80 percent of the region. According to the report, government security forces had previously abandoned posts and bases.
The Observatory had already reported on Friday evening that the government had also lost control of the south-western Syrian city of Suwaida in the Suwaida governorate, which borders Daraa. Local insurgents had taken control of the central prison. The governor has fled.
Russian air force supports Syrian government
The Syrian government can continue to count on Russian support in its fight against the rebels. According to its own statements, Russia's air force destroyed rebel positions and ammunition depots in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo together with Syrian fighter jets. Dozens of units of military equipment and 200 terrorists were "destroyed", an air force officer told the Russian news agency Interfax. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Russia, which supports the ruler Assad in the civil war as well as Iran, has stationed warships in Syria in addition to military aircraft. Since the start of the surprising offensive by the Syrian rebel alliance, the Russian leadership has repeatedly emphasized that it remains firmly on Assad's side.
USA and Jordan call on citizens to leave the country
In view of the fighting, the US government called on its citizens to leave Syria immediately as long as they can still get out of Damascus on commercial airline flights. The security situation in Syria remains volatile and unpredictable, according to a warning on the website of the US embassy in Syria, which has suspended its local operations since 2012. According to the Foreign Ministry, neighboring Jordan also called on its citizens to leave the country as quickly as possible. One of two border crossings to Syria was already closed on Friday for security reasons.
Israel concerned about rapid advance
The surprisingly rapid advance of the rebels is also causing Israel increasing concern. The country is already involved in armed conflicts on several fronts. The army has announced that it is reinforcing its troops on the annexed Golan Heights as a precautionary measure. Additional soldiers and air forces are to be stationed there along the de facto border with Syria. Israel's army "will not tolerate any threats near the Israeli border", it said.
According to media reports, the Jewish state is also preparing for a possible collapse of the Syrian army. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that Israel is also preparing for the possibility of a surprise attack from the Syrian border region. The Golan Heights, a strategically important rocky plateau, was conquered by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981. Under international law, the areas are considered Syrian territory occupied by Israel.
Fears about Assad's chemical weapons
According to unconfirmed Israeli media reports, the Israeli government and military leadership also fear that chemical weapons of the Syrian power apparatus or material and knowledge for their production could fall into the hands of the rebels or pro-Iranian militias. In such a case, Israel could feel compelled to intervene militarily as a precautionary measure, it said. When asked, the Israeli army refused to comment on reports that the air force had already bombed chemical weapons storage facilities in Syria in recent days.
Heavy Israeli attacks continue in the Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues. According to its own statements, the Israeli army killed several high-ranking members of the Islamists who were allegedly involved in the terrorist attack on Israel 14 months ago. Among them was one of the commanders who led the massacre in the Israeli kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. In addition, the head of Hamas' air defense unit had already been killed on Friday. He had played a key role in the major attack on Israel using paragliders and drones, the army emphasized. This information could not initially be independently verified either.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that more than 30 people were killed and many others injured in an attack on a block of flats in the refugee district of Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip. Many people are said to still be under the rubble of the houses. This information could not be independently verified either. Israel's army said on request that it was investigating the report.
