Israel sees increased threat from Syria despite moderate tone of rebel leaders 

 

Israeli soldiers ride in a military vehicle along the ceasefire line with Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as seen from the Golan Heights, Dec. 15, 2024.

JERUSALEM —

The threats to Israel from Syria remain despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, amid military moves by his country to counter such threats.

"The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat — despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present," Katz told officials examining the country\’s defense budget, according to a statement.

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Israeli airstrikes target Syrian military depots

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  Syria\’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on Saturday that Israel was using false pretexts to justify its attacks on Syria, but that he was not interested in engaging in new conflicts as the country focuses on rebuilding.

  Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — leads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Assad from power last Sunday, ending the family\’s five-decade iron-fisted rule.

  Since then Israel has moved into a demilitarized zone inside Syria that was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, including the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon that overlooks Damascus, where its forces took over an abandoned Syrian military post.

  

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By：VOA