Reports: As Syrian rebels take Hama, Israel preparing for possible collapse of regime
Netanyahu holds security deliberations, with officials said to believe rebel advance poses ‘real threat’ to Assad’s rule
Israel is said to be preparing for the possibility that the Syrian army may collapse in the face of rapidly advancing rebel forces, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding security deliberations on the matter on Thursday night.
Channel 13 reported that the IDF now assesses the rebels may pose a real threat to the continuation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. According to a report on Channel 12, Israel has been surprised by the weakness of the Syrian army, as it continues to swiftly lose ground to the jihadist-led fighters.
The report added that Israel has sent a strong warning to Iran not to send weaponry to Syria that could reach the hands of the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
Kan news reported, citing two unnamed sources, that Israel and the United States are “detecting signs of certain collapse” in the Syrian army, and that one of Israel’s main concerns is that the rebels will advance as far south as the Israeli border with Syria in the Golan Heights.
Channel 13 said Israel has conveyed messages to rebel leaders to stay away from the border.
Earlier on Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held an assessment on the developments in Syria, as the rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the key central city of Hama, a little more than a week after they launched their offensive, just as a ceasefire took hold between Israel and Assad’s ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah.
Last week the rebels took control of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, and have since pushed south, capturing Hama on Thursday and advancing further south to Homs, a key central city that functions as a crossroads connecting Syria’s most populous regions.
The Israeli military assessment was held with the IDF General Staff Forum, the military’s top brass.
“The IDF is following events and is preparing for any scenario in attack and defense,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF will not allow a threat near the Syrian-Israeli border and will act to thwart any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”
Amid the growing concern, two senior Israeli officials told the Axios news site that the collapse of regime defense lines in the past 24 hours had happened faster than expected.
A US official who also spoke to the site said that Israel has expressed concern to Washington over both a potential radical Islamist takeover of Syria and an increased presence of Iranian forces in the country to back Assad.
At the same time, an official told The Times of Israel anonymously that Israel’s interest in the renewed fighting in Syria is “that they continue fighting one another.”
They added: “It’s entirely clear to us that one side is Salafi jihadists and the other side is Iran and Hezbollah. We want them to weaken one another.”
The official stressed that Israel is not getting involved on either side. “We are prepared for any scenario and we will act accordingly.”
Until last week, the war in Syria had been mostly dormant for years, but analysts have said the violence had been bound to flare up as the conflict was never truly resolved.
After years locked behind frozen frontlines, the rebels have burst forth to mount the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a rebellion against Assad descended into civil war 13 years ago. The capture of Hama has given them control of a strategic central city that opposition forces had never previously managed to seize.
Rebels were seen on television parading through Hama into Thursday evening to the sound of celebratory gunfire. Other footage showed detainees pouring out of the city prison after rebels freed them.
The insurgents said they were ready to march on south towards Homs, which links the capital Damascus to the north and to the port cities on the coast. “Your time has come,” said a rebel operations room in an online post, calling on Homs residents to rise up in revolution against government forces.
The most powerful rebel faction is the Sunni Islamist HTS, the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has pledged to protect Syria’s religious minorities and has called on them to abandon Assad, but many remain fearful of the insurgents.
The group has sought to moderate its image in recent years, but experts say it faces a challenge convincing Western governments it has fully renounced hardline jihadism.
