Israeli military chief Halevi defends operations in Syria

Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi has said the country does not intend to intervene in Syria but remains focused on preventing "terror elements" from gaining a foothold in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Halevi, who visited the Golan Heights for a situation assessment with senior military officials, was seen in video footage addressing commanders on Saturday.

He said Israel had been in the area for almost a week to "defend the border" in the occupied Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. "There was a hostile state here whose army has collapsed. There is a threat that terror elements may arrive here, and we have acted proactively to prevent them from settling," he added. Halevi reiterated that Israel is "not intervening in what is happening in Syria" and has "no intention of managing Syria".

His remarks followed a statement from Ahmad al-Shara, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, regarding the evolving Israel-Syria relationship following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government. Al-Shara, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said they "have no intention of entering into a conflict with it (Israel)". He further argued that Israel "now has no justification" for continuing its strikes and interference in Syria.

The comments come after Israel's seizure of the United Nations-monitored buffer zone, a demilitarised area between the two countries established in 1974. Israeli forces also took control of a Syrian army outpost and stationed troops on the summit of Mount Hermon, the highest point in the area.

Israeli airstrikes have been targeting Syrian army assets across the country, according to Israeli officials. Israel's military actions have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community to respect Syria's sovereignty.

While Israel has maintained that the move into Syria is limited to the buffer zone and is not a permanent occupation, sources have been quoted as saying in Israeli media that the military may remain in the buffer zone for a long time which may extend to years.

Following the 1967 Middle East War, Israel has already been in occupation of Golan Heights, which much of the international community considers Syrian territory unlawfully occupied by Israel.

Israel conducted 24 air raids in the countryside of Damascus on Saturday, according to a war monitor. The strikes reportedly hit tunnel-equipped installations carved into a mountainside in the targeted area, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The latest raids bring the total number of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory to 426 since the collapse of the Syrian government on 8 December.

The Observatory said several rounds of bombardment targeted "military sites of the former regime forces, as part of destroying what is left of the future Syrian army's capabilities".

On Thursday, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres expressed concern over "extensive violations" of Syrian sovereignty and the Israeli strikes in the country, his spokesman said. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that thousands of Syrian refugees have started returning to the country from Lebanon through the Masnaa border point and other border crossings, going back to Idlib, Damascus, Daraa, Aleppo, and other locations. Refugees were also reported returning from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings to northwest Syria.