Assad: Syrian army can handle Israel
Syria\’s army is ready to deal with Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian official on Syrian state television.
Syria\’s army is ready to deal with Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad told an Iranian official on Syrian state television.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has few good options for military retaliation after Israel\’s air strikes over the weekend but the attacks could redouble support from his regional allies Iran and Hezbollah.
Russia and China expressed alarm on Monday over the regional repercussions of two Israeli air raids on Syria, while Israel played down strikes which its officials said targeted Iranian missiles bound for Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
Israel sought to persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday that its recent air strikes around Damascus did not aim to weaken him in the face of a more than two-year-old rebellion.
Israeli jets devastated Syrian targets near Damascus on Sunday in a heavy overnight air raid that Western and Israeli officials called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon\’s Hezbollah.
The White House said on Friday it was continuing to study evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons and would not set a timetable for corroborating reports.
The U.S. intelligence community believes Syria used chemical weapons on anti-government rebels.
Syrian forces have used chemical weapons against rebel forces and civilians, the head of Israel\’s military research said.
The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in the Syrian capital of Damascus was looted and burned to the ground.
Israel could withstand any attack involving Syrian chemical weapons, an Israeli general said on Friday, adding it was improbable that Damascus would order such a strike.