In the two days since Bashar al-Assad fled in panic from his Damascus palace to an unknown locale in Moscow (BREAKING: Assad Missing As His Airplane Disappears From Radar While Fleeing Damascus), Israel has intensified its military operations in Syria, launching numerous airstrikes targeting weapons and military infrastructure. 

In a highly coordinated series of over 300 air and naval strikes, Israel has eliminated Syria's air force and navy. Its air defense network has ceased to exist. Ammunition dumps, communications, intelligence and logistics nodes, and defense-related factories have been destroyed.

“Israel” is said to have bombed the entire Syrian Navy.

And invading Syria. pic.twitter.com/76rECQjDuO

— Michael Yon: Callsign BIG HONEY 6 (@Michael_Yon) December 10, 2024

Syria no longer has a navy or a military. The Israeli Air Force decimated the fleet in Latakia and has done the same to most of its now-abandoned weapons caches and army motor pools to prevent their acquisition by the terrorists who toppled the government. pic.twitter.com/CckLcjmiVg

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 10, 2024

***UPDATE***

Images of sunken Syrian navy ships following last night’s Israeli Navy strike on Latakia, Syria.

6 x vintage OSA-II class missile boats. pic.twitter.com/Izi2JbM8ah

— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) December 10, 2024

🇸🇾🔥😳 Latakia, IDF air strikes on warships in the port pic.twitter.com/lEwlZ4haX3

— MAKS 24 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) December 9, 2024

Israel is destroying Syrian air bases, military and defense systems, intelligene, military & government structures.

Basically they're demilitarizing Syria. https://t.co/inj2U1yVJ1 pic.twitter.com/ysIn6VI20Z

— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) December 8, 2024

In addition to the airstrikes throughout the depths of Syria, Israel has also reoccupied the Syrian portion of the Golan Heights that it relinquished to UN supervision in 1974 (Netanyahu Abrogates 1974 Peace Deal With Syria and Orders IDF Into Buffer Zone). Possession of Mount Hermon, the highest location of Israel, Jordan, and Syria, increases the early warning Israel will have of missile and drone attacks. It also provides continuous surveillance of the routes used by Iran and Hezbollah to move weapons into Lebanon. This move opens a secure and unimpeded air corridor from Israel to Iran. In the past, Israeli aircraft had to avoid Syrian interceptors and surface-to-air missiles, while Syrian radar provided invaluable information to Iran. 

The major accomplishment of these strikes is the disarmament of Syria, and any future regime will have to start from scratch.

Other forces in the Syrian civil war have also used the collapse of the Assad regime as an opportunity to cripple some of the combatants. The US carried out nearly 100 airstrikes on known ISIS targets as well as targeted hits on key ISIS leaders (US Blasts ISIS Camps in Syria As Dictator Bashar Al-Assad's Regime Falls).

Turkey has been carrying out punishing attacks on Kurdish PKK/YPG forces. The YPG are US sponsored; Turkey considers both to be terrorist groups.

Türkiye dealt a major blow to PKK/YPG terrorists.

Turkish intelligence MIT destroyed 12 trucks, 2 tanks and 2 ammunition depots loaded with missiles, heavy weapons and ammunition seized by the PKK/YPG from the Assad regime in Qamishli, Syria. https://t.co/nkhoYE7L48 pic.twitter.com/OWjDXppmh0

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 10, 2024

The demolition of Syria's military capability has bought Israel several years of enhanced security and makes any direct action by Iran a decidedly high-risk affair.