Israeli leaders are closely watching the dramatic events unfolding in Syria, where opposition forces launched a surprise offensive on Wednesday, leading to the fall of Aleppo and Hama.
Kurdish forces also began to mobilize this weekend to defend sections of Aleppo where Kurds are the majority population following the sudden conquest of the city Friday evening by the forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly the Jabhat al-Nusra Islamist group linked to Al Qaeda.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled a security meeting for Sunday evening to discuss the events taking place in Syria and in Lebanon.
“We are constantly following the developments in Syria. We are determined both to protect the vital interests of the State of Israel, and to preserve the achievements of the war..” Netanyahu said in a brief statement earlier in the day.
In Lebanon, Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, is continuing its daily violations of the ceasefire agreed upon last week. Israeli forces have remained in southern Lebanon and are continuing to enforce the agreement, destroying Hezbollah weaponry and attacking terrorists who attempt to infiltrate the region.
“Over the past day, the IDF operated in several locations in southern Lebanon to remove threats to the State of Israel that were in violation the ceasefire agreement conditions,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday night.
“As part of these operations, yesterday (Saturday), IDF troops identified several armed terrorists adjacent to a church in southern Lebanon that was actively used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The troops fired toward the terrorists and eliminated them. The eliminated terrorists were operatives in the Hezbollah Khiam ground defense, anti-tank missile, and artillery units, and shot at the troops from the church.”
After eliminating the terrorists, the troops scanned the church area and located a tunnel shaft containing weapons as well.
“The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and acts against any threat to the State of Israel,” the military said.
Because Iran has been weakened by its year-long support for Hezbollah’s war against Israel along with its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Islamic Republic is unlikely to offer Syria more than nominal aid as the regime faces its latest threat.
Russia, although not weak by any means, is busy elsewhere; its war against Ukraine has come at a very high price and shows no sign of ending anytime soon. As a result, Moscow is also not likely to offer more than symbolic assistance to the Assad regime in its latest effort to fend off opposition forces.
Israeli security and defense officials meanwhile are watching the situation closely, while preparing for the possibility that important strategic assets could fall into the hands of Islamist rebel forces.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also commented this weekend on the developments in Syria. “The three main players supporting the Syrian government in the civil war in the country are Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah,” he noted.
“These three players are currently weakened due to their involvement in wars in other regions. Therefore, it is not surprising that actors in Syria, including the rebels, take advantage of this as they have done in recent days.”
Sullivan added that HTS has been declared by the US to be a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and “therefore, of course, we are concerned.”
Syria’s Kurdish population is also watching closely, and its YPG forces are mobilizing to protect their brethren.
Sheikh Maqsoon neighborhood in Syria’s second-large city, Aleppo, where Kurds are the majority population. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Kurds who fled attacks by Turkey and its proxies are also living in the Tal Rifaat and Shahba sections of the city. YPG has mobilized to protect all three neighborhoods.
The HTS-led rebel forces, meanwhile, secured control over significant portions of the provincial capital, Hama city, on Saturday night, and then began moving towards Homs, further south, early Sunday.
Farhad Shami, spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a United States-backed force spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG – has blamed Turkey for the HTS-led offensive in a statement on the SDF website.
“This week has witnessed a large-scale attack and substantial shifts have happened. Damascus government forces have deteriorated in Aleppo and other regions. It is no doubt that this attack is orchestrated by the Turkish occupation state, with the ultimate goal of occupying the entire Syrian territory. However, the primary target of this attack remains the areas under the Autonomous Administration to prevent the peaceful coexistence of the region’s diverse peoples, including Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, and other communities. The Autonomous Administration’s regions are facing a large-scale attack, with a particular focus on the areas of Al-Shahba’a and Aleppo. This constitutes a grave threat to the survival of our people,” Shami wrote.
“Our Syrian Democratic Forces have consistently fulfilled their duty to liberate and protect the region. We reaffirm our commitment to these historical responsibilities, regardless of the cost. We will stand firm against these attacks and fulfill our historic duty to safeguard the region and its people. There should be no doubt about our resolve. We urge everyone to heed the call for public mobilization and to coordinate closely with the SDF and Internal Security Forces. It is imperative that we stand united in these challenging times,” Shami added.
The SDF, allied to and supplied by the US–led CJTF–OIR* international alliance, was foundedin October 2015 and states its forces are fighting to create a secular, democratic and federalized Syria. The SDF is opposed by Turkey, which claims the group has direct links to the country’s Kurdish PKK terror organization.
*Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) is a multinational military formation established by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) with the stated goal of degrading and destroying the radical Islamist group.
