Syrian and Israeli media report air attacks on the southern Deraa province, targeting military sites associated with the former Bashar al-Assad regime.
Israeli military aircraft have reportedly carried out attacks in Syria’s southern province of Deraa, according to media reports and a monitoring group. These strikes mark the latest in a series of attacks targeting military positions linked to the former Bashar al-Assad regime.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) stated that the attacks on Monday night struck two towns in the northern part of Deraa, located 103 kilometers (64 miles) south of the capital, Damascus.
“Israeli occupation aircraft conducted several strikes on the outskirts of the towns of Jbab and Izraa in northern Deraa,” SANA reported.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, noted that 17 strikes by Israeli fighter jets hit two military positions in the towns: the former regime’s Artillery Regiment 89 and the 12th Brigade.
No casualties have been reported so far, according to the observatory.
Israeli media outlet Channel 14 reported that the air attacks targeted al-Assad regime army outposts, weapons depots, radars, tanks, and artillery that rebel groups in Syria were allegedly “trying to take over.”
Since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes on targets within Syria.
The Syrian Observatory reported that Israel’s military carried out more than 500 air attacks on targets in Syria between December 8 and December 31, 2024, and has conducted 21 documented attacks so far this year.
Most of Israel’s attacks have targeted facilities and weapons previously held by the toppled regime’s forces. Israel has stated that these actions aim to prevent military assets from falling into the hands of forces hostile to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized last month that southern Syria must be fully demilitarized. He also warned that his government would not accept the presence of forces affiliated with the new government in Damascus, led by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, near Israeli territory.
Since al-Assad’s removal, Israel’s military has entered and taken control of territory within a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israel and Syria in the occupied Golan Heights since 1974.
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