Israel sought to avoid a direct
confrontation with the Syrian regime on Monday by stressing that air
strikes across its northern border at the weekend were intended to
prevent weapons reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon rather than further destabilise
the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Amid a cautious
consensus that the bombing raids were unlikely to provoke an immediate
response from Syria, or its allies
Hezbollah and Iran, an Israeli politician close to the prime minister,
Binyamin Netanyahu, said the action was "against Hezbollah and not
against the Syrian regime".
The Israeli air strikes targeted
stocks of Iranian-supplied Fateh-110 missiles, which have a 200-mile
range and precision guidance systems held near Damascus, following
unambiguous warnings that it would act to prevent sophisticated weapons
reaching Hezbollah or jihadist fighters inside Syria. In line with
custom, Israel has made no comment on the bombings.
Interviewed on
Israel Radio, Tzachi Hanegbi said the aim of the military action was
"to keep advanced weapons from Hezbollah as soon as intentions are
exposed, and refrain from tension with Syria".
Netanyahu's
departure on a scheduled trip to China, from which he is not due to
return until Friday, signalled "business as usual", Hanegbi added. The
defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, is running the government in the prime
minister's absence.
The Israeli Defence Forces' northern
commander, Major General Yair Golan, said there were no "winds of war"
along Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon, although the military was
ready and alert to deal with any retaliation.
Israel's northern
airspace, which was closed to commercial traffic following the air
strikes, was expected to reopen on Monday. Earlier, two of its five Iron
Dome batteries, the key plank of its missile defence system, were moved
to the north of the country, to be positioned near the cities of Haifa
and Safed.
However, some analysts warned that any retaliation was
likely to be against Israeli targets abroad rather than a direct attack.
"The Syrians and their allies can now swallow their pride and do
nothing, or decide that they are fed up and launch an all-out clash with
Israel. Both of these options are less likely than the third: to raise
the bar in the secret war, which will be expressed in acts of terror, in
attacking Israeli interests in the world and firing from the [Syrian]
Golan Heights or from the Lebanese border," wrote defence analyst Alex
Fishman in Yedioth Ahronoth.
Despite a bellicose response from the
Syrian government and its allies – including a statement from Syria's
deputy foreign minister, Faisal al-Miqdad, that the Israeli air strikes
were a "declaration of war" – its attention and resources are invested
in clinging to power after two years of bitter and costly civil war.
Former
Mossad director Danny Yatom said Assad "most likely won't respond at
this time. The Syrian army and the regime, which are almost completely
preoccupied with survival, have no interest in opening a new front
against Israel … On the other hand it could very well be that [Syria or
Hezbollah or Iran] will carry out a secret operation and try to commit
terror attacks against an Israeli or Jewish target somewhere in the
world," he told Israel Radio.
However, further Israeli air strikes
could force Assad – or Hezbollah or Iran – to respond, which in turn
could draw not just Israel, but the US and Europe, into a confrontation.
The US gave Israel wholehearted backing for the weekend bombings, but
was not given prior warning of Israel's actions, according to an unnamed intelligence official.
China
called for restraint in the region. "We oppose the use of military
force and believe any country's sovereignty should be respected," said
foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. "China also calls on all
relevant parties to begin from the basis of protecting regional peace
and stability, maintain restraint and avoid taking any actions that
would escalate tensions and jointly safeguard regional peace and
stability."
Reports of casualties from the air strikes varied from
fewer than 20 to several hundred. Russia Today quoted an unnamed senior
Syrian military source as saying Israel had used depleted uranium shells in the operation
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