Israel struck multiple Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight and into Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of airstrikes that Israel has said are aimed at keeping military hardware and infrastructure out of the hands of extremists after rebels seized power a week ago.
In all, Israel struck its neighbor 75 times in attacks that began Saturday night near the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the cities of Hama and Homs, said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitoring organization that has long tracked the conflict in Syria.
Israel has struck Syria more than 450 times since the collapse of the al-Assad regime a week ago, according to the Observatory, destroying Syria’s navy and dozens of ammunition depots, air bases and other military equipment.
Israel’s military has also seized and occupied an expanse of territory in Syria over the de facto border between the two countries, giving no timeline for its departure apart from saying that it would stay until its security demands are met.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about its latest strikes in Syria.
Neither the previous Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad nor the new authorities in Damascus have attacked Israel, and Arab countries and France have called on Israel to withdraw and respect Syria’s sovereignty.
Israeli officials, however, say that the raids are necessary to secure the border and to keep Syria’s weaponry from falling into the hands of extremists while the country remains unstable.
