Netanyahu takes credit for starting ‘historic’ process that led to fall of Assad regime

IDF takes control of buffer zone along border, including Syrian side of Mount Hermon, said to bomb missile research facilities, and chemical weapons stores around Damascus

Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed credit for starting the chain of events that led to the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, hailing it as an ‘historic day,’ as the military seized control of the buffer zone on the countries’ border.

‘This is an historic day in the history of the Middle East,’ Netanyahu said during a visit to Mount Bental on Israel’s border with Syria. ‘The Assad regime is a central link in Iran’s axis of evil — this regime has fallen. ‘

‘This is a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, the main supporters of the Assad regime,’ Netanyahu argued, referencing the 14 months of combat against Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies since October 7 of last year.

‘This has created a chain reaction throughout the Middle East of all those who want to be free from this oppressive and tyrannical regime,’ he added.

On Saturday, Netanyahu warned that while the fall of Assad brings new opportunities, it also carries new risks.

‘We are acting first and foremost to protect our border,’ the premier said. ‘This area has been controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone agreed upon in 1974, the Separation of Forces Agreement. This agreement has collapsed, the Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions.’

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to seize the buffer zone Saturday, he said, adding that Israel will not allow any hostile forces to set up on the border.

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it had deployed in the buffer zone, but has not commented on specific positions.

Included in movements in the zone, troops from the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag Unit seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Sunday, facing no resistance during the operation, the military said.

The IDF stressed that its deployment to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria was a ‘defensive and temporary’ measure amidst the chaos in the country following the fall of the Assad regime.

According to the military, troops were deployed to specific strategic positions in the buffer zone to prevent unidentified gunmen from being in the area.

The IDF fears that following the fall of the regime, and with an abundance of weapons in the area, hostile forces could attack Israel.

The military said the move to capture the buffer zone is purely to ensure that attacks aren’t carried out against Israel, and it will remain there until the situation is clear.

It marked the first time since the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement was signed that Israeli forces have taken up positions inside the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The IDF has entered the zone briefly on several occasions in the past.

The disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria concluded the Yom Kippur War.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, the Israeli Air Force carried out numerous strikes in Syria on Sunday, taking out weaponry Israel fears could fall into the hands of hostile forces.

According to reports in Syria, strikes earlier Sunday targeted ammunition and weapons depots at the Khalkhalah airbase in Suwayda, several sites in the Daraa Governorate and the Mezzeh airbase in Damascus.

Later, additional strikes were reported at the Mezzeh airbase, a major security complex in the Kafr Sousa suburb of the capital, a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center in Damascus, and a central square in the capital that includes intelligence and customs headquarters.

Israel has previously said Iranian scientists were developing missiles at the Kafr Sousa complex.

Israel on Saturday also hit a Hezbollah convoy as the terror group withdrew from the Syrian city of Qusayr along the border with Lebanon shortly before rebel forces seized it, Syrian army sources told Reuters.