The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes against certain military facilities in the Syrian port city of Tartus on the night of December 16, 2024. Tartus is an important Russian naval base and repair yard.
The attack was focused on a number of sites in Tartus alongside the province of Latakia. Israeli media reported, the airstrikes targeted and hit sites that were associated with the Russian military, including a base used by the Russian Navy and a military ship repair yard.
In their words, “Israeli warplanes struck a number of targets, including air defense units and surface-to-surface missile depots, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, in the heaviest strikes on Syria’s coastal region since 2012.”
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Sunday, December 15 ambitious plans to boost its population on the occupied Golan Heights by double, emphasizing threats from Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,”.
In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria, annexing it in 1981.
Avraham Levine, an analyst of the Alma Research and Education Center, disclosed that about 31,000 Israelis have already occupied the area since the annexation. Many of them now work in farming, including vineyards and tourism.
In 2019, Donald Trump then-President declared U.S. support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, even though the annexation has not been recognized by most countries. Syria has constantly demanded Israel’s withdrawal, but Israel refuses, citing security concerns. Various peace talks and efforts have proved futile.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump on Saturday about security and uprising developments in Syria.
In a statement later on Saturday Netanyahu said “We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” rather Israeli actions in Syria were meant to “thwart the potential threats from Syria and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border,” he said on Sunday.
Netanyahu’s office revealed the government unanimously approved a more than 40-million-shekel ($11 million) plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan.
