Israeli airstrikes hit strategic Syrian port amid chaos

Tartus is a deep-water port on the Mediterranean Sea. Utilizing it was Russia's most important strategic and geopolitical interest in Syria. However, Israel launched an attack on the Syrian port on Sunday amid the country's chaos following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Israeli attack was confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) based in London. It was noted as the "heaviest attack" in this area in over a decade. Tartus is inhabited by the Alawite population, from which the deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad originates.

"Israeli warplanes launched strikes targeting a series of sites including air defense units and "surface-to-surface missile depots," reported SOHR. A video appeared on social media showing a massive explosion.

The Times of Israel reported that the explosion was so powerful seismologists recorded it as an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1. Tartus and neighboring Latakia are strategic military points and key commercial and industrial centers. For the new Syrian authorities, these maritime ports are crucial to the country's economy and security.

The Russians have already managed to move part of their fleet from the Port of Tartus to sea and leave the Humaymim airbase. In early December 2024, as the offensive by rebel forces pushed out the Russian-backed Assad troops, Russian commanders decided to withdraw main units from the base and evacuate part of the personnel and equipment. Officially, they call it a strategic regrouping of forces. Meanwhile, Russian diplomats are seeking an agreement with the new authorities in Syria, hoping to maintain a minimal presence in the region and protect their interests.

For 50 years, Russia has been managing Tartus with varying intensity. There, it established a naval base for warships, including submarines.

Tartus received Soviet weapons purchased by Syrians as early as the 1970s. Initially, the Russians rented part of the pier, but under agreements with the Syrian government, it was gradually transformed into a naval base. Russia confirmed the right to use the port with a clever agreement in 2005 when it forgave 73 percent of Syria's debt from the Soviet era, as pointed out by Radio Free Europe. Following the outbreak of conflict in Syria in 2011, the base became the main logistical point for weapon supplies for the Syrian regime and a rallying point for Russian forces.

As recently as 2019, Russia signed a lease agreement for the entire port for another 49 years, with plans to expand the docks. There were many civilian units at the Tartus base, rented by the Russian Federation and known as the "Syria Express," supplying Russian troops and Assad's army with ammunition. However, these operations were suspended due to the threat from Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea, and air transport replaced them. Many of these units remain stuck in the port. Presumably, the Russians will withdraw them, using them first to evacuate personnel and equipment, commented Jacek Tarociński, an analyst in the security and defense team of the Center for Eastern Studies, on money.pl.

Since the fall of Assad's regime on December 8, Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of attacks on military targets in Syria, destroying "most" of the stockpiles of strategically important weapons in the country, according to the Israeli army last week. It was assessed that the attacks eliminated even 90 percent of the surface-to-air missiles in the Syrian army's arsenal.