Israeli airstrikes target over 250 sites across Syria

JERUSALEM

The Israeli military launched airstrikes on at least 250 targets across Syria following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Israel’s Army Radio reported Monday.

The attacks "mark one of Israel's largest air strikes in its history" and targeted Syrian military bases, dozens of fighter jets, surface-to-air missile systems, weapons production sites and storage facilities, it said.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that for the first time in over 50 years, Israel struck "all Syrian air bases," utilizing hundreds of warplanes and drones.

The ongoing attacks have so far hit nearly 300 locations, according to the newspaper.

Israeli forces entered the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights under directives from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. The 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria defined the boundaries of the buffer and demilitarized zones.

Netanyahu, speaking from the Golan Heights, previously alleged the occupation is "temporary."