BEIRUT, December 10. /TASS/. Israel has struck the Mezzeh neighborhood in the southwest of Damascus, the Al Jazeera television channel reported.
According to Al Jazeera, the strike targeted a military airfield in the area and planes and helicopters deployed there. No further details were provided.
Syria’s armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. Late on December 7, they seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus while government troops withdrew from the city. The head of the Syrian government, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, expressed his readiness for a peaceful transfer of power in the country. According to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry, Bashar Assad resigned as president of Syria and fled the country, instructing for the peaceful transfer of power.
Early on December 8, Israel officially announced the deployment of its forces to the buffer zone on the border with Syria. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this was a temporary measure taken in light of the recent developments in neighboring Syria.
Later in the day, the Kan radio station reported that Israeli air force had hit dozens of targets in Syria, including ballistic missile production shops and air defense systems. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), more than 250 military targets have been attacked in Syria following the change of power in that country.