350 attacks in 2 days, 80 percent munitions of Assad’s Army destroyed; All you should know about Israel’s Operation ‘Bashan Arrow’ in Syria

Amidst the Syria crisis, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out over 350 attacks on strategic targets in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, who was forced to flee the country and seek asylum in Moscow after rebel forces Damascus on early Sunday. Israel claimed that Iran-backed Hezbollah had made attempts to acquire the munitions left behind by the fallen regime.

Syria crisis: Israel has carried waves of airstrikes in Syria after the fall of the Bashar-al Assad regime, targeting key military infrastructure and bases, the Israeli Defense Forces said in statement on Tuesday. According to the IDF, it carried out strikes against 320 “strategic targets” in Syria, that primarily included military bases of the former Assad regime.

The strikes, carried out under ‘Operation Bashan’, named after the biblical name of the Golan Heights and southern Syria region, lasted for 48 hours and took out about 80 percent of military capabilities of the former regime. Israel claimed that this was done to ensure that the former regime’s strategic weapons do not fall in enemy’s hands, such as Iran-backed Hezbollah.

As per Israeli media reports, the IDF carried out over 350 attacks on strategic targets in Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, who was forced to flee the country and seek asylum in Moscow after rebel forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, captured Syrian capital Damascus on early Sunday.

Here’s a brief summary of Israel strikes in Syria under ‘Operation Bashan’

According to the IDF, over 350 airstrikes were carried out in Syria, targeting, anti-aircraft batteries, airfields, and weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra. The Israeli forces also struck Al-Bayda and Latakia ports, destroying 15 Syrian naval vessels.

The IDF claimed that dozens of scud missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-surface/air/sea missiles, UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radars, tanks, and hangars, were destroyed in the strikes, crippling the former regime’s naval capabilities.

Additionally, airstrikes were conducted on 130 Syrian ground assets, which included weapons depots, military installations, and firing positions, they added.

Hezbollah tried to acquire Assad’s munitions

Israel claimed that operation was necessitated because Hezbollah, which withdrew from Syria a day before Assad’s fall, had made attempts to acquire the munitions left behind by the fallen regime. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Israel asserted that its military action in Syria was a ‘limited and temporary’ measure to deal with immediate security threats.

Israeli media reports, quoting government sources the operation was carried out to ensure the safety of Israelis living near the Syrian border, especially to protect the Golan Heights region.

The IDF said most of the strikes were carried out on Assad regime’s army bases in southern Syria and around the city of Damascus, and targeted air defense systems and depots housing surface-to-surface/air missiles. Israel also targeted the Qamishli airport in northeastern Syria, the Shinshar base in the countryside of Homs and the Aqraba airport southwest of the capital Damascus, according to reports.