IDF continues strikes on Syrian military equipment, reveals night raids to destroy weapon depots

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday confirmed several recent operations in Syrian territory, including an incident where four Syrians were reportedly killed, as Israel continues to maintain a buffer zone on the Golan Heights and to destroy military equipment of the ousted Assad regime across the country.

The operations came despite a warning by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who during a visit to Jerusalem on Monday, cautioned that Israel’s actions could further escalate the situation in Syria and Lebanon.

On Tuesday, the military stated that “IDF troops identified several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria,” noting that ground troops and the Air Force returned fire.

“Hits were identified,” the military said. According to Syrian reports, at least five people were killed in the incident in the village of Kowaya, northwest of the province capital, Daraa.

The incident is the first of its kind since the IDF took over the former demilitarized zone along the Syrian border, after the army of the former regime disintegrated.

The IDF has since established relations with some local leaders and collected weapons in villages that are located within the zone.

The village is located some 3.5 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Israeli border. The military didn’t comment on why its troops were in the village, which is outside of the buffer zone along the Golan frontier.

However, the IDF also announced Tuesday that its troops conducted several overnight raids in Syrian territory to “remove threats.”

Forces of the Paratroopers Brigade’s combat team, along with soldiers from the engineering commando Yahalom, “operated in several locations following intelligence indications and located numerous weapons including: explosives, ammunition, mortar shells, military vests, combat equipment, munitions, and bullets. All of the items that were located were confiscated and dismantled,” the IDF said.

“Troops of the 210th Division remain deployed in the area in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel, particularly in the Golan Heights,” the statement added.

In another separate announcement, the IDF confirmed earlier Syrian reports that, for the second time in four days, the Israeli Air Force struck two military airports in the Syrian desert: Tadmur, near the ancient city of Palmyra, and T-4, some 50 kilometers to the west.

The targets were “military capabilities that remained” at the former regime bases, the military said.

“Some reports linked these strikes to Turkey’s desire to establish a presence in eastern Syria, but in our assessment, there is no connection between the two,” assessed Alma Research Center, a think tank focusing on Israel’s northern front.

However, a recent report by Alma noted that “Turkey plans to establish multiple bases to serve the Turkish Air Force, utilizing the infrastructure of Syrian airports in the Palmyra region (Palmyra Airport and T4).”

“A scenario in which Turkish Air Force jets operate in Syrian airspace against Israeli Air Force jets is a possible one. In this context, it should be noted that in recent weeks, several reports have emerged from Syria regarding aerial incidents that included friction between Israeli and Turkish air force planes,” the report added, while noting that reports of aerial friction remained unconfirmed.

During her Monday visit, EU chief diplomat Kallas had warned that “Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation,” during a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

“We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalization that is also against Israel,” Kallas explained.

However, she acknowledged the Israeli worries about the new regime in Syria, which is dominated by the leaders of the former Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group, which was widely designated as an Islamist terror group.

“Of course our worries are the same. They say the right things, will they do the right things?”

“But we have discussed this in the European Union and amongst all the member states, and our view is that we need a stable Syria,” Kallas added.