Israeli warplanes late Tuesday struck military sites in southern Syria, the Israel Defense Forces said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to demilitarize the border region.

Assad, Israel launches more attacks, disrupting the national dialogue and asserting control over southern Syria as part of a regional escalation.

Syria's new interim President, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has tried to reassure Israel that he does not want conflict and that he is ready to uphold the long-standing disengagement agreement between the two countries concluded after another war in 1973.

Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli bombing of Syria late Wednesday and called on the international community to stop Israel’s actions, which destabilize security and stability in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria’s new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to “enter the area south of Damascus”

The demand is putting the new government in a bind, forcing it to choose between confronting a much stronger Israel or surrendering control of some of its territory.

The attacks in southern Syria are part of a new policy aimed at protecting what Israel calls its “security zone” in the region. Syria’s new government has condemned that policy.

Israel confirmed it is conducting strikes in southern Syria, as the new Syrian government calls for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory.

Thousands of Syrians rallied across the country to protest Israeli PM Netanyahu’s call for demilitarizing southern Syria, decrying his interference in Syrian sovereignty amid escalating Israeli airstrikes [Damascus] – In a display of national unity,