Israel Strikes Syria Amid Chemical Weapons Concerns

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel struck more than 100 targets in Syria in less than 12 hours on Monday, a war monitor said, after the Israeli military admitted it crossed into Syrian territory to protect the Jewish nation amid concerns about chemical weapons.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military sites “of the fallen regime of Bashar al-Assad” were the primary targets in “Israel’s heaviest attacks on Syria to date.”

The air strikes hit a research center that Western countries suspected of having links to the production of chemical weapons, weapon depots, and navy boats, the Observatory said.

The Syrian air defenses in Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Daraa have also been disabled, several sources explained.

Israel did not clarify the latest strikes but had pledged to attack pro-Iranian militias in Syria to limit the influence of arch-enemy Iran.

Monday’s strikes came while the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said there remained “serious concerns” about “the fate of significant amounts of chemical weapons unaccounted for.”

It added that “the Syrian declaration of its chemical weapons program still cannot be considered as accurate and complete.”

FRANCE, US CONCERNS

France and the United States raised similar concerns Saturday as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, or HTS, a group formerly linked to terror group Al Qaida, advanced toward the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Robert Wood, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, warned that Assad’s chemical weapons were “not a relic of the past.”

Yet, the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group condemned Israel’s attacks late Monday, calling the military actions “attacks on the defense capabilities of the Syrian state.”

The organization, which Assad had backed, said it stood behind the people of Syria.

Separately, the United States struck targets associated with Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in central Syria, while Turkey attacked U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.

The apparently conflicting strikes raised eyebrows as both nations are part of the NATO military alliance.

A deal for the Kurdish forces to withdraw from the northern city of Manbij was reportedly struck on Monday after an advance by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

ISLAMIC STATE WARNINGS

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that Islamic State would try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria.

Blinken added that rebel leaders’ statements about building inclusive governance were welcome, but the real measure would be their actions.

Amid the military turmoil in the Middle East, U.S. President Joe Biden held a telephone consultation with King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday. During that conversation, “the emphasis was on the situation in Syria and Palestine,” the White House said.

Abdullah reportedly emphasized the “importance of ensuring the security of Syria and the well-being of Syrians” after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. King Abdullah also urged “rapid international action to stabilize the country.”

The king called for “intensifying global efforts” to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where he stressed the importance of humanitarian aid.

In Europe, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and the two expressed their willingness to cooperate with the new rulers.

Scholz and Macron “welcome” the fall of Assad because he “inflicted terrible suffering on the Syrian people and caused great damage to his country,” the German government said.

Yet they cautioned that cooperation with the new government should be “based on fundamental human rights.” Ethnic and religious minorities must be protected, they said, amid broader concerns about the plight of Christians and other groups in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation.

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