DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – The occupying regime of Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a London-based Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday.  
Reporters in the capital heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs. Photographs circulating online showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes.
There was no immediate comment from the militant and terrorist groups — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – that have taken control of much of the country. Their lightning advance brought an end to President Bashar al-Assad’s administration after nearly 14 years of foreign-backed war on Syria. There are concerns over what comes next.
In the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall, Zionist forces moved into a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) buffer zone inside Syria that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war.
Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars and occupying it indefinitely. The Zionist regime captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has closely tracked the conflict since the war erupted in 2011, said Israel has carried out more than 300 airstrikes across the country since the militants overthrew Assad.
The Observatory, and Beirut-based Mayadeen TV, which has reporters in Syria, said Israeli troops are advancing up the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon and had come within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of Damascus.
Israel’s military had previously said troops would enter the buffer zone “and several other places necessary for its defense.”
Zionist media meanwhile reported that the air force was methodically destroying Syria’s
 military assets to ensure whoever rules the country next would have to rebuild them.
“Dozens upon dozens of targets, including arms depots of various kinds, have been hit in waves of attacks so as to prevent them from falling into hostile hands and from posing a threat to Israel,” wrote Yossi Yehoshua, the military correspondent for Israel’s largest daily, Yediot Ahronot.
The air force “currently enjoys complete freedom of action,” he added.
Regional countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s aggression, saying the regime is exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law.
Turkey, which has been a main backer of the Syrian opposition to Assad, also condemned Israel’s advance. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israel is “displaying a mentality of an occupier”.
War minister Israel Katz said Israel has ordered its forces to create what he called a “sterile defense zone” in southern Syria.
He gave no details. As part of the wave of strikes, Katz said Israeli missile ships had destroyed the Syrian military fleet in an operation on Monday night.
Israel, which has just agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon following weeks of aggression, calls the incursion a temporary measure. But it remained unclear how far beyond the designated buffer zone its troops had stopped.
Three security sources said on Tuesday the Israelis had advanced beyond the demilitarized zone. One Syrian source said they had reached the town of Qatana, several kilometers (miles) to the east of the zone and just a short drive from Damascus airport.
The Zionist regime welcomed the fall of Assad, a towering figure in the Axis of Resistance, and confirmed being in contact with HTS militants. HTS has roots in takfiri movements including Al-Qaeda and Daesh which have never attacked Israel and are believed to be cooperating with the Zionist regime.
As in southern Lebanon following the ceasefire with Hezbollah, Zionist leaders have said they will intervene in Syria whenever they see it fit.