Damascus, Dec 15 (IANS): Israel intensified its airstrikes against Syrian military facilities, conducting 24 air raids in the countryside of Damascus, according to a war monitor.
The strikes reportedly hit tunnel-equipped installations carved into a mountainside in the targeted area, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.
The latest raids bring the total number of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory to 426 since the collapse of the Syrian government on December 8. These operations have spanned 13 Syrian provinces, according to the observatory.
Israeli airstrikes have been targeting Syrian military assets across the country, according to Israeli officials, who claimed the attacks aimed to prevent the weapons "from falling into the hands of terrorist elements".
Israel's military actions in Syria have sparked condemnation from regional countries and prompted calls from the international community for respect for Syria's sovereignty, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Observatory said several rounds of bombardment targeted "military sites of the former regime forces, as part of destroying what is left of the future Syrian army's capabilities".
Israel air strikes on Friday targeted "a missile base at the top of Damascus's Mount Qasyun", the group said, as well as an airport in southern Sweida province and "defence and research labs in Masyaf", in Hama province.
Since Assad's fall, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Syrian military sites, targeting everything from chemical weapons stores to air defences.
In a move that has drawn international condemnation, Israel also seized a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone on the Syrian Golan Heights just hours after the rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, took Damascus.
On Thursday, UN Chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern over "extensive violations" of Syrian sovereignty and the Israeli strikes in the country, his spokesman said.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that thousands of Syrian refugees have started returning to the country from Lebanon through the Masnaa border point and other border crossings, going back to Idlib, Damascus, Daraa, Aleppo, and other locations. At the same time, some Syrians have fled to Lebanon.
Refugees were also reported returning from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings to northwest Syria.