Whenever you hear of a stir in Syria or its capital city, it’s time to take notice.
Islamic Jihadist rebels, known as “HTS,” have captured large swaths of Syria to bring down the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Having seized the major cities of Allepo, Hama, and Homs, the rebels set their sights on Damascus, Syria’s capital city, which they encircled and entered Sunday morning.
According to the Times of Israel, as HTS took control of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad and his family fled the city on a plane bound for Moscow. Rebel forces and the Syrian army confirmed shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, ending its half-a-century rule over the country.
On Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the reinforcement of aerial and ground forces in the Golan Heights, saying, “The IDF will not tolerate threats near the Israeli border and will thwart any threat against the State of Israel.”
After the Assad regime collapsed, the Syrian army abandoned its positions in the buffer zone along the border with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu detailed in a statement on Sunday.
“We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel,” Netanyahu stated. “This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”
“We’re going to follow events very carefully,” he underscored. “If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel.”
Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets struck numerous areas within Syria on Sunday, targeting “strategic weapons,” including a chemical weapons factory of the Assad regime, to thwart them from falling into the hands of hostile forces.
Additionally, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday that it had conducted 75 airstrikes to “prevent [ISIS camps and operatives] from taking advantage of the demise of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime,” Fox News reported.
As Erick Stakelbeck, host of the Watchman Newscast, described on Friday, even prior to the chaos caused by HTS, Syria was not what could be considered a “Sovereign Nation.”
“Everyone has got their hooks in Syria, whether it’s Iran, Hezbollah, Russia, Turkey, or the Kurds. They have all carved out their position. So, it’s tough to call Syria a sovereign state. Assad rules over a sizable chunkโor at least he didโbut he is a client of Iran,” he stressed. “Iran and Hezbollah are there for their own selfish evil interests, which involve mainly using Syria as a transit point to funnel weapons which they can use to launch attacks against Israel. Syria lies to Israel’s North. If you want to get weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, you have to go through Syria unless you want to do it through the Mediterranean route, which becomes a whole lot more challenging.”
The defenders of the Assad regime, which included the Iranian “Ring of Fire,” have been decimated by Israel. Hezbollah is operating at approximately 30% capacity, and Iran itself has been thoroughly crippled by precision Israeli airstrikes. With Russia also distracted by its own war in Ukraine, according to Stakelbeck, it appears that they were all “caught off guard” by the rampage of HTS.
It can be easy for some to shrug their shoulders. Syria, seated on the other side of the world for Americans, is undoubtedly an unstable, war-torn country and a playground for bad actors. It may be fair for many to ask, “Is there ever a time when something nefarious is not occurring in Syria?”
Damascus, which is seated in close proximity to Israel’s northern border and holds the title of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, however, is incredibly consequential for the Jewish State as well as Bible-believing Christians.
According to Isaiah 17:1, a day is coming when Syria’s capitol will be destroyed in its entirety: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.”
Stakelbeck underscored that the latest civil war in Syria makes this prophecy all the more relevant today.
“All of a sudden, there is a bullseye on Damascus,” Stakelbeck explained. “The prophecy laid out in Isaiah 17 states that Damascus will become a ruinous heap. Damascus has never been completely destroyed, even during the Civil War that broke out in 2011. But the Bible is very clear that a day is coming when Damascus will cease to be a city.”
