Rebel leader: Israel has no more ‘excuses’ to strike Syria

“Excuses have run out, and they have crossed the lines of engagement,” said head of the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Ahmad al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

Although reports conflicted as to whether he mentioned Israel by name, it was clear that al-Julani’s statements to Syrian state media were aimed at Jerusalem, noting that his group’s sovereignty over most of Syria has ended Iranian intervention in the country and that it is not seeking further conflict.

On Nov. 27, a coalition of rebel groups—HTS chief among them—toppled Bashar Assad’s regime in an 11-day armed uprising, reportedly with the backing of Turkey.

In response, the Israeli Air Force has waged a massive air campaign against Syrian military targets to make sure they can’t be used against the Jewish state.

The operation has seen hundreds of IAF aircraft striking key Syrian military installations, severely damaging what was once one of the strongest air defense systems in the Middle East.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said the air force has succeeded in destroying an estimated 90% of Syria’s strategically important surface-to-air missiles.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, al-Julani said, “We are currently working to meet Syrians’ primary needs. We are not seeking to engage in any conflict given Syria’s fragile state, and we are addressing the international community.”

He added, “The Syrian revolution has triumphed, but Syria cannot be governed with a revolutionary mindset. There is a need for law and institutions, and for transitioning from the mentality of revolution to the mentality of statehood.”

Speaking about Tehran’s influence over Syria in the past decades, al-Julani said, “We successfully ended the Iranian presence and hold no hostility toward the Iranian people.”

Later on Saturday, Syrian media reported that Israeli airstrikes had resumed in the Damascus area. Israel targeted sites in the town of Hafir in the area of al-Qalamoun, in the countryside of Damascus, according to Voice of the Capital, a Syrian activist group.

Meanwhile, the IDF stated that it was continuing its defense mission in the Syrian buffer zone and along the border with engineering, armor, paratroopers and reconnaissance troops.

“The forces are deployed at commanding points that control the buffer zone and strengthen the defense in the area,” the IDF said.

“We are not intervening in what is happening in Syria. We are here to stop terrorist elements from establishing themselves,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a situational assessment in the Golan Heights on Friday.

Speaking to soldiers stationed there alongside OC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and 210th Division commander Brig. Gen. Yair Palai, as well as additional members of the General Staff Forum, Halevi said the troops are there to defend the border in the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon.

“There was a country here that was an enemy state, its army collapsed, and there is a threat that terrorist elements could reach here. We moved forward so that these terrorist elements will not establish themselves — extremist terrorists will not establish themselves right next to the border,” Halevi stressed.

“We have no interest in anything that is currently going on in Syria,” said Col. Benny Kata, commander of the 474th Golan Regional Brigade. The IDF’s purpose in Syria is to protect the Israeli residents of the Golan, he added.

On the Syrian side, the brigade found a large amount of arms, including anti-tank missiles, weapons, vests, ammunition and other military equipment, according to the IDF.

In a three-day visit to Israel that started on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Michael Kurilla met with Defense Minister Israel Katz and senior members of the defense establishment to discuss regional security issues, including the developing situation in Syria and “preparedness against other strategic and regional threats.”

Kurilla said, “My visit to Israel, as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon over the past six days, reinforced the importance of seeing the current challenges and opportunities firsthand through the eyes of our partners, commanders on the ground, and servicemembers. We need to maintain strong partnerships to confront current and future threats to the region.”