Senior Israeli Commander: The Syrian Army No Longer Exists in Practice

While a senior commander in the Israeli army states that the Syrian army 'practically no longer exists,' the second-in-command of Hezbollah in Lebanon believes that the Syrian army still controls important cities in the country and that its recent defeats are insignificant. General Yair Golan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, said on Monday, June 11, at a security meeting in Tel Aviv: 'The Syrian army de facto no longer exists.' In this context, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday, June 12, that as a result of the created situation, the Israeli army has intensified its 'intelligence monitoring of the Syrian civil war.' According to Haaretz, the Israeli army's assessment indicates that Bashar al-Assad's government has been severely weakened in recent weeks in countering rebel attacks and has lost control of significant parts of the country. This assessment was reinforced after Assad's army lost control of strategically important areas in northeastern Syria, which pose serious risks to the Alawite region along the Mediterranean coast. Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli army stated: 'The severe weakness of the Syrian army and the extensive interventions of Hezbollah in the Syrian war, along with the heavy casualties it has suffered, is a satisfactory situation for Israel.' Israeli General Yair Golan added: 'Perhaps the strategic conditions for Israel (in relation to Syria and the Lebanese organization Hezbollah) have never been better than today.' However, this senior Israeli military figure also noted: 'This situation is not pleasing for Israel in the long term, as it is unstable, especially since Hezbollah's operational capabilities have been strengthened as a result of its participation in regional wars, and the absence of Sunni extremist forces near the Syrian border with Israel may change in the future.' According to General Golan, 'Syria and Lebanon have become a single front for Israel, and Hezbollah has a significant presence in the Golan Heights and the Lebanese borders.' Haaretz reported that Israel assesses that Hezbollah is under severe pressure due to its failures in the Syrian civil war in recent months. Meanwhile, Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy to Hassan Nasrallah, stated in an interview with Al-Manar on Monday night that the loss of parts of Syria is 'insignificant' because the army still has the 'ability to protect the main and large cities of Syria.' Sheikh Naim Qassem considered the takeover of the city of 'Tadmur' [Palmyra] by ISIS fighters and the control of the town of Arsal near the Syrian border with Lebanon by the 'Nusra Front' rebels as a temporary and insignificant defeat. In the meantime, following the recent advances of ISIS forces in the provinces of Aleppo and Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the events of the war in the country from London, announced on Monday that ISIS now controls more than half of Syrian territory, approximately 300,000 square kilometers. According to Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Bashar al-Assad's army is suffering from a personnel shortage and is facing significant difficulties in mobilizing new forces instead of the heavy casualties it has sustained.