Israeli forces have eliminated the military fleet in Syria, according to the Minister of Defense.

The Israeli Navy has destroyed the Syrian military fleet during an operation conducted on the evening of December 9.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced this during his visit to the naval base in Haifa, as reported by The Times of Israel.

According to him, Israeli forces are strengthening their presence in the buffer zone "between Syria and the Golan Heights."

Katz called for the establishment of a "sterile defensive zone" in southern Syria without a permanent Israeli presence to prevent any threats to Israel.

Al Jazeera previously circulated photos showing the sunken Syrian military ships in the port of Latakia following the Israeli attack.

It is worth noting that earlier, media reports indicated that just hours after Syrian rebels captured Damascus, Israeli forces began to secure strategic sites within Syrian territory.

Background. Mind had previously reported that throughout the night and morning of December 10, the Israel Defense Forces launched numerous strikes on Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported approximately 250 Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.