Damascus, Syria

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Israel launched a series of airstrikes on multiple sites in Syria overnight, despite the Syrian rebel leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, saying that his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has no interest in engaging in conflict with Israel.

The strikes came shortly after Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, announced that Israeli forces would remain stationed on Mount Hermon throughout the winter. The troops took control of the Golan Heights buffer zone last week. “Due to what is happening in Syria, there is enormous security importance to our holding on to the peak,” Katz’s office said.

'Israelis have clearly crossed the lines of engagement in Syria'

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Earlier, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani of HTS told Syrian state media, “There are no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left. We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel.” Jolani accused Israel of using false pretexts to justify its recent attacks but emphasised that his focus remains on Syria’s rebuilding process after years of war.

Also read: US makes 'direct contact' with Syria's rebels; Turkey reopens embassy in Damascus after 12 years

“The Israelis have clearly crossed the lines of engagement in Syria, which poses a threat of unwarranted escalation in the region,” Jolani said. He added that Syria, exhausted from years of conflict, must prioritise stability and reconstruction rather than risk further destruction through new confrontations. “The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction,” he added.

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'Not intervening in what is happening in Syria,' says IDF Chief of Staff

Responding to Jolani’s comments, Israel Defence Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said, “We aren’t intervening in what is happening in Syria. We have no intention of administering Syria.” Halevi said that the country’s actions are focused solely on ensuring the security of its citizens.

“There was an enemy country here. Its army collapsed. There is a threat that terror elements will come here, and we advanced so … extreme terror elements won’t settle close to the border with us,” Halevi said. “We are unequivocally intervening only in what determines Israeli citizens’ security. The deployment along the entire border, from Mt Hermon to the meeting of the Israeli-Syrian-Jordanian border, is proper,” he added.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israel launched 61 missiles at Syrian military sites in less than five hours on Saturday evening.

The United Nations has urged Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” France, Germany, and Spain also called on Israel to pull back from the demilitarised zone.

The UN has accused Israel of violating a 1974 disengagement agreement, which established the buffer zone following the Yom Kippur War. Israel, however, argued that the agreement “collapsed” with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

(With inputs from agencies)

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