In Large-scale Operation Israel Destroyed the Syrian Navy

Photo Credit: IDF

Israeli Navy soldier firing on Hezbollah targets.

The Israeli Navy carried out a significant strategic operation against the Syrian Navy overnight Tuesday, destroying a large number of vessels and preventing weapons from falling into the hands of hostile elements.

In effect, Israel’s action destroyed the Syrian Navy’s ships. This joins a large-scale operation by the Air Force in the past two days in which Syrian Air Force aircraft were destroyed: MiG-29 and Sukhoi fighter jets, and helicopters at bases throughout Syria.

?Update: IDF has launched air strikes to completely destroy Syria’s Navy! Syria will be subject to non-stop air strikes now like Gaza and Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/RnwoTb8h0F

— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) December 9, 2024

Many Syrian vessels were destroyed in the Mina al-Bayda area and the port of Latakia in the attack, which was carried out by IDF naval missile ships. Dozens of sea-to-sea missiles were found on the attacked vessels, which constituted the strategic target for the operation.

The operation aimed to prevent military capabilities and equipment from falling into the hands of the Islamist rebels, while significantly reducing the capabilities of the Syrian Navy. The operation demonstrated the Israeli Navy’s professional preparedness and ability to conduct complex operations in the maritime arena.

Israel attacked Syria this afternoon in Damascus, targeting a major security complex which hosts the main intelligence headquarters in the Kafr Soussa suburb, and a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center.
IAF also targeted al-Mezzeh Military Airport. pic.twitter.com/tx5FPBSb8N

— Naks Bilal (@NaksBilal) December 8, 2024

The Financial Times cited a person familiar with the situation in Syria who said the Israeli Air Force was taking advantage of the sudden absence of Russian-operated air defenses to “decimate what’s left of the Syrian Air Force, by going after grounded planes, helicopters and weapons caches.”

Israel Opens Syria War Front: IDF Pounds Damascus, Targets 3 Key Airports, Army Bases As Assad Flees #TNDIGITALVIDEOS #Israel #IDF #Syria pic.twitter.com/XrZTWoUJOV

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 10, 2024

In addition to destroying advanced weapons, vessels, and aircraft, Israel also destroyed surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft systems, and strategic weapons. On Monday, a chemical weapons research center in the Damascus area was attacked.

Col. Erez Ben-Zion, retired chief of naval missile fleet 3, looking at his crafts. / IDF

According to Reuters, citing security sources, IDF forces in Syria have reached up to 25 kilometers southwest of Damascus.

AFP reported on Tuesday that since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Israel had “destroyed the most important military sites in Syria” with hundreds of airstrikes.

Egypt strongly condemned the movement of tanks and infantry into and beyond a previously demilitarized buffer zone, calling it an “occupation of Syrian land” and a “serious violation” of the 1974 armistice agreement.

The Egyptian foreign ministry stated on Monday that Israel’s recent actions had “exploited the … vacuum in Syria in order to occupy more Syrian land and to impose new facts on the ground in contravention of international law.”

Finally, according to Arab News, Hezbollah lambasted Israel for “occupying more land in the Golan Heights” where it moved troops into a buffer zone after Assad fell, and for “striking and destroying the defensive capabilities of the Syrian state.”

“While we affirm our support for Syria and its people, we stress the necessity to preserve Syria’s unity,” the Hezbollah statement continued.

Words hurt, you know.