Ibrahim Hamidi
Al-Arabiya News, Nov. 30, 2024
“The surprise attack looks to be aimed at pressuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has refused to meet the Turkish president unless his forces withdraw from Syrian territory.”
Syrian opposition group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and armed factions supported by Turkey launched a surprise offensive in northwestern Syria, making significant advances toward Aleppo – the country’s second-largest city. This development marks the first frontline shift dividing Syria’s “three mini-states” in nearly five years and comes after an Israeli warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The HTS-led offensive in western Aleppo directly targeted Iranian-backed militias and killed a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Earlier this month, Israel carried out airstrikes on Idlib for the first time, targeting Iranian and Hezbollah positions.
In a briefing Wednesday, a senior Israeli military official said that the Israeli army would not just strike the weapon shipments, but al-Assad’s regime would pay for aiding Hezbollah.
“We struck on Syrian soil all attempts to transfer weapons to Hezbollah. If we detect intentions to transfer weapons to the organization – we will act,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
“If Syria helps Hezbollah to rebuild, they will pay direct prices. Not only the convoys will be attacked, but there will be prices to pay in Syria as well,” the official said.….SOURCE
