IDF: Fall of Assad regime marks end of Tehran-Damascus-Beirut axis, new challenges ahead

According to the IDF, this new era offers lots of historic opportunities, but it also involves new serious dangers since some of the new rulers of Syria are unpredictable jihadists.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB DECEMBER 8, 2024 18:09

Israeli soldiers take a position in the Golan Heights, near the Israeli border with Syria, northern Israel, December 8, 2024. (photo credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)

The axis of resistance of Tehran, Damascus, and Beirut is gone and no longer exists, the IDF said on Sunday night following the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad.

According to the IDF, this new era offers lots of historic opportunities, but it also involves new serious dangers since some of the new rulers of Syria are unpredictable jihadists.

For example, Israel is not only concerned about Syria’s new rulers attacking the Jewish state but also about them potentially trying to destabilize Israel’s close intelligence ally, Jordan.

In terms of taking over the Syrian side of the Mount Hermon range, IDF sources said that the premise that the military will be there only on a temporary basis until it feels it has an understanding with Syria’s new rulers to keep control of their various scattered militias.

Israeli soldiers take a position in the Golan Heights, near the Israeli border with Syria, northern Israel, December 8, 2024. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)

IDF sources said that some of the Syrian rebel forces that moved through the Syrian side of the Golan on Friday and Saturday were from diverse Sunni groups, and it was unclear how much control the main rebel leaders could exert over them to stop them from attacking an Israeli border village.

Rebel attacks and regional coordination

The IDF flagged that some of these Syrian rebels had attacked a UN outpost to steal materials.

According to the IDF, all of its actions, whether its slight move into close parts of the Syrian border or some of the several airstrikes against certain dangerous Syrian weapons, were all coordinated with a number of foreign parties with interests in Syria.

These could include the US, Russia, Turkey, and the Kurdish-Syrian groups, among other countries.

It was unclear how long the IDF forces would stay on the Syrian side of the Hermon if it took longer to reach an understanding with the new regime once that regime emerged.

Also, the IDF especially emphasized a need to keep an eye on the treatment of Druze persons and villages on both sides of the border.