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Operation Arrow of Bashan

Syria's new masters are driven by “an extreme ideology of radical Islam”, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a press briefing on 09 December 2024. “That's why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like remaining chemical weapons or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall into the hands of extremists.”

The Israeli military said 10 December 2024 that it conducted about 480 strikes over the past 48 hours on strategic military targets in Syria, days after the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad. “Within the last 48 hours, the [Israeli army] struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria, preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements,” the military said in a statement, adding that the targets included 15 naval vessels, anti-aircraft batteries and weapons production sites in several cities.

The IDF completed the main strategic part of Operation "Arrow of Bashan" [HE = Hetz haBashan] on 10 December 2024, which began on the night of 7-8 Decembe 2024, with the understanding that the Assad regime was falling. Hundreds of strategic Syrian targets were attacked in the operation, and according to reports, security forces continue to operate in the buffer zone.

Bashan is the biblical name for a region of land across the Jordan River, bounded on the west by the Golan Heights, on the east by the Horn and the Druze Mountains, on the north by the Hermon Range, and on the south by the Yarmouk River. Bashan was known in the sources for the fertility of its land, its forests, and its pastures. It is mentioned in the Bible 47 times in the Hebrew Bible and 12 times without it, and it served as a source for poetic prophecy , as a symbol of fertility and abundance, and sometimes in conjunction with the term and name Carmel.

As the Israelites approached Canaan from the east, they asked the Amorite king Sihon if they could pass through his land, but he attacked them instead. The Israelites defeated him at Jahaz and captured all his land (Deuteronomy 2:24-37). After this they turned northward toward Bashan and defeated King Og at Edrei (Deuteronomy 3:1-11). Though the lands of Sihon and Og were not part of Canaan (which lay west of the Jordan River; see Numbers 34), the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh requested that this land be allotted to them as their inheritance, and Moses agreed.

As part of the operation, 350 Air Force fighter jets launched strikes across Syria and destroyed 320 strategic targets in order of priority: aircraft, coastal missiles, submarines, ships, and additional capabilities. Dozens of attacks were carried out on Syrian aircraft, weapons production facilities, and weapons depots. In addition, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, and coastal missiles, radars, tanks, and surface-to-air missile batteries were destroyed, and the Air Force attacked advanced Syrian Navy vessels carrying coastal missiles.

Israeli Army Radio said that Israel’s air force has completed the main part of the military operation it began in Syria, called Operation Arrow of Bashan/Golan, and that it has destroyed about 80 percent of the Syrian army’s military capabilities. Army Radio added that since the start of the operation on Sunday night, the Israeli military has destroyed warplanes, combat helicopters, surface-to-air missile batteries, Scud and cruise missiles, drones, weapons depots, and ammunition manufacturing sites, army sites and facilities connected to Iran, and sunk 15 missile boats.

The operation took place after years of intelligence gathering by the security establishment, and in fact it was an event that had been planned for years. The IDF acted in a way that kept Iran out of the picture, with an emphasis on ensuring that strategic weapons would not fall into the wrong hands.

In modern history, there were several major operations by the Israeli military against Syria: Operation Ash in 1967, Osirak in 1981, the operation against Syrian nuclear reactors in 2007, the attack against Hamas police station in 2009, a preventive attack against Hezbollah a few months ago, and many others that can't be discussed for security reasons. The current air and ground operations deep into Syrian territory became part of the list, especially since these preventative actions were carried out calmly and not through political communication.

A 1974 agreement established the line of control between Israel and Syria, though they have entered in the past for brief periods. But even after signing the 1974 agreement, Israel has carried out sporadic bombing campaigns in Syria. The Israeli government has said that they have been targeting installations belonging either to Iran, which was allied with Assad, or to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Never miss an opportunity to seize an opportunity - it may be one of the most public and incredible tasks, not just of the Air Force, but of the Israeli ground forces and its military intelligence as well. The IDF had been training for the "hour of need" for years.

IDF forces waited years for the opportunity to thwart Syria's arsenal, but at the same time, one of the military goals is to prevent Syrian stockpiles from reaching the hands of likely enemies. Although the Syrian army collapsed, all its sites, bases, equipment, and weapons remain untouched and abandoned. In fact, anyone could “take home” anything from basic military equipment to advanced conventional weapons, strategic capabilities, and even unconventional weapons, such as chemical weapons. This is the scenario that Israel feared.

Its primary targets in Syria are chemical weapons facilities and military infrastructure, aimed at weakening anti-Israel forces. Regardless of who holds power, Israel seeks to exploit Syria's instability to pursue its strategy. If Syria remains fragmented and chaotic, it is possible Israel will continue its actions in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was able to document around 310 strikes carried out by "Israeli warplanes" since the announcement of the fall of Assad. The strikes targeted airports and warehouses, aircraft squadrons, radars, military signal stations, and multiple weapons and ammunition depots. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "Israeli warplanes" had launched strikes on military targets including "the Barzeh scientific research centre", a defence ministry research centre in northern Damascus. Western countries including the United States had previously struck the research facility in Barzeh in 2018, saying it was related to Syria's "chemical weapons infrastructure". On 10 December 2024, three blocks of buildings that made up the centre were completely destroyed.

From the air, the manned aircraft flew hundreds of hours over Syrian territory. A wide variety of anti-aircraft batteries were attacked, including from the sea, Syrian Air Force airfields, and dozens of targets at various production sites in the Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra areas. These waves of attacks destroyed a large amount of weapons, including Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coastal missiles, surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, drones, fighter jets and attack helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars, and more. The Northern Command's fire center attacked over 130 targets in Syrian territory with aircraft, including weapons depots, military buildings, launchers, and firing positions.

Strikes attributed to Israel damaged about 10 navy ships in coastal Latakia. British security firm Ambrey said the Israeli military targeted at least six Syrian naval vessels in an attack on the Syrian port of Latakia on 10 December 2024. Ambrey said video footage showed one naval vessel and indicated five others had been sunk without any visible damage being done to the port’s infrastructure. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has confirmed that the military had hit several Syrian naval vessels in overnight strikes. “The [Israeli military] has been operating in Syria in recent days to strike and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel. The navy operated last night to destroy the Syrian fleet with great success,” Katz said during a visit to a naval base in the northern city of Haifa.

Satellite imagery showed that Russian naval ships had left Moscow’s base at Tartous on Syria’s coast, and some have dropped anchor offshore following the overthrow al-Assad. An image taken on December 9 by Planet Labs showed at least three vessels in Russia’s Mediterranean fleet, including two guided missile frigates and an oiler, moored about 13km (eight miles) northwest of Tartous. The rest of the fleet could not be immediately located in satellite imagery.

Israeli fighter jets destroyed the Syrian arsenal, which was primarily supplied by the Iranians and Russians with billions of dollars, including an entire air force of MiG 29s, combat helicopters, long-range missiles, aircraft defense systems, technological and military research centers, intelligence centers, biological and chemical weapons, and weapon manufacturing sites. All target banks that have been gathered by military intelligence in recent years were hit and damaged.

As part of the ongoing operation, the IDF is focusing on the Syria-Lebanon border, working to thwart threats to Israel and prevent the transfer of weapons to hostile elements. The most central body that has focused the security system is Iran, which has held Syria as a central base and strengthened it, which has brought militias to Syria and supported Assad.

Against the Iranian effort, with the fall of the Assad regime and in general in the campaign between the wars, Iran lost a significant part of its hold on the Syrian region, but the future is still unclear, and the IDF continues to work to prevent leakage to Hezbollah. In the meantime, the political echelon held cabinet meetings, as announced, and the IDF, which initiated the operations, effectively destroyed the Syrian Air Force.

As part of the "air superiority" concept, 350 Air Force fighter jets attacked throughout Syria and destroyed hundreds of targets. The IDF and the defense establishment handled the lion's share and destroyed about 80% of Syrian strategic capabilities. And yet - about 20% of strategic capabilities remained, and in the defense establishment there is a kind of order of "what is more dangerous."

Against the backdrop of the fall of the Assad regime, it was not entirely clear in Israel how the US and Russia, and regional powers such as Iran, would act. Iran hesitated, while at the same time the IDF acted quickly and forcefully, in defense and offense. At the same time, actions were also being taken in the political arena, and meetings had been held between various elements in Israel and their counterparts in the region.

In light of the operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the Tel Aviv headquarters: "If the new regime in Syria allows Iran to reestablish itself, or allows the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, we will respond forcefully and exact a heavy price from it." Netanyahu admitted that he authorized the Air Force to bomb strategic military capabilities left behind by the Syrian army, so that they would not fall into the hands of jihadists.

"We want relations with the new regime in Syria," Netanyahu added. "But if this regime allows Iran to reestablish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah; or attacks us - we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it. What happened to the previous regime, will also happen to this regime."

In the absence of any counteraction from the air defense, the Israeli Air Force continued to calmly and methodically knock out the remains of the Syrian air force with concrete-piercing ammunition. For the Israeli air force, the situation in Syria was now the equivalent of a shooting range in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli air strikes targeted sites belonging to ousted president Bashar al-Assad's military in the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces on 12 Decembe 2024. "Israeli warplanes launched air strikes" targeting "military sites" including "the Latakia port" as well as warehouses in neighbouring Tartus province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that "Israeli warplanes continue to destroy what remains of Syria's military arsenal for the fourth consecutive day since the fall of the former regime".