Israel's first involvement in events in Syria: The IDF today (Saturday) attacked with artillery fire rebel forces who attacked a UN post in the Khader area on the slopes of Mount Hermon, opposite Majdal Shams.
In an unusual statement by the IDF spokesman, it was stated that the IDF assisted the UN force in repelling the attack.
It was also reported that the IDF has deployed reinforced forces on the Golan Heights front and will continue to act to protect the State of Israel and its citizens.
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In Syria, it was previously reported that the rebels control the border with Israel after defeating the Assad regime's soldiers in the area.
Local media outlets in the villages on the slopes of Mount Hermon report that the Syrian army has abandoned its positions in the area. The rebel organizations are cooperating with residents of the Druze towns who helped take over Assad regime bases in the northern Quneitra province and Mount Hermon.
The joint command of the rebel factions in Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, issued a statement this evening condemning attacks on public and international institutions: "We announce that all government institutions, international organizations, and UN offices operating in our country are institutions serving the people, and we must protect and preserve them, and even ensure that they can continue to operate.".
The announcement also stated: "We also announce that their security (of the institutions) must be maintained and that it is forbidden to commit any offense that may harm their activities or harm their goals related to development and providing services, in Aleppo, Hama, Homs, southern Syria and all other cities.".
Senior Israeli officials are preparing for the complete collapse of the Syrian regime. The same officials told Kan News that this is a dramatic turning point that could change the reality in the Middle East.
Israel is detecting a mass abandonment of Syrian soldiers throughout Syria: in the north of the country and in the south, a dramatic abandonment of the defense lines, with the Syrian regime effectively converging around the capital, Damascus.
Documentary: Syrian soldiers take off their uniforms in the heart of Damascus@OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/Wnt7kr9aYy
— Here News (@kann_news) December 7, 2024
At this stage, Israel does not recognize any significant intervention by Iran, Russia, or Hezbollah.
Although Hezbollah sent a symbolic force to Syria, the organization and its fighters were left badly battered after the war with Israel, and the organization has no real power or capabilities to assist Assad.
The Iranians are also hesitant after a long series of losses among all of its branches in the Middle East.
The rebels reached the outskirts of Damascus
Earlier today, Syrian rebels advanced on Damascus, announcing that they had begun the final phase of a siege. Syrian opposition sources told Al Jazeera that a multi-pronged offensive had begun towards the Syrian capital.
Bashar al-Assad's office officially denies reports that he has left Syria, claiming that he is continuing his missions from the capital, Damascus.
After the fall of Homs, the Assad regime still controls Damascus and the coastal region and the "Alawite Mountain" corresponding to it, where Russian military bases are also located, as well as the roads connecting it, and the areas parallel to the Lebanese border.
Yesterday and today, there were reports of significant retreats of regime forces from the northeast of the country, which were transferred to the Kurds, from the Syrian desert, including Palmyra, and their complete collapse in the regions of southern Syria - the provinces of as-Suwayda (the Druze mountain), Daraa and Quneitra.
Documentary: Syrian rebels announce they have taken control of Quneitra province bordering Israel after Assad's army retreats@kaisos1987 pic.twitter.com/cLUKmpuhEL
— Here News (@kann_news) December 7, 2024
Syrian rebels announce they have taken control of Quneitra province
Today, there were also reports that the rebels had taken control of several suburbs of Damascus, but not all of them or the city center itself. The rebels also claim to have launched an offensive inside the city of Homs, Syria's third largest city.
On the border with Iraq, Reuters reported that Assad's army forces have completed their withdrawal from the Al-Qaim crossing, entering Iraq. Last night, Assad's forces and pro-Iranian militias evacuated the crossing, and Kurdish forces took control of it, in coordination with the regime. The crossing is the main weapons smuggling route from Iran to Hezbollah, and is now out of the control of the militias and the Assad regime.
