Tue Feb 18th, 2025

Netanyahu says Israel is “constantly monitoring” the situation in Syria

Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel at an IDF recruiting base Photo: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO via Facebook

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “constantly monitoring what is happening in Syria” following the offensive launched by Syrian insurgents on Wednesday against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

“We are constantly monitoring what is happening in Syria. We are determined to both protect the vital interests of the State of Israel and preserve the gains of the war,” the prime minister stressed in his first public statements on the situation in Syria, which is developing in parallel with the ceasefire between the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Lebanon.

During a visit to a recruitment base alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu made clear that his country will continue to “firmly enforce” the ceasefire agreement, and that any violation “is immediately met with a strong response” from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Since the truce between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon within 60 days, the IDF has accused the Shiite terror group of violating the agreement on several occasions, although fighting has greatly reduced.

At the same time, the Islamist alliance Levant Liberation Organization and other factions supported by Turkey launched an offensive against the Syrian government and have already taken full control of the northwestern province of Idlib, much of the city of Aleppo and northern parts of Hama in the centre of the country.

The offensive has met with little resistance from Assad's troops, who have admitted that they have withdrawn from Aleppo "temporarily" in order to regroup and launch a counterattack.

Israel has repeatedly accused Syrian authorities of allowing Hezbollah terrorists to use its territory to transport weapons from Iran to Lebanon, and has attacked some border crossings on the Syrian side of the border during the past few months of escalation.

The Syrian army, supported by Russian air forces, has carried out dozens of airstrikes against rebel positions.

Agencies contributed to this Aurora article

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