Netanyahu celebrates fall of Assad regime, says its a historic day for Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday praised the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, saying it benefits the Middle East.

"This is a historic day for the Middle East," Netanyahu wrote on the social media platform, X. "The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers."

Netanyahu said the collapse was the direct result of the damage Israel has inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, “the main supporters of the Assad regime,” according to the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS).

He said it “has created a chain reaction throughout the Middle East of all those who want to break free from this regime of oppression and tyranny,” and it opens up opportunities for Israel.

He said Israel will do what it has to do to protect its border. “This area was controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone,” he noted, according to JNS.

“I instructed the IDF yesterday to take over the buffer zone and the adjacent control positions. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our borders,” Netanyahu said.

Early Sunday morning, Islamist rebels stormed the Syrian capital of Damascus, resulting in Assad fleeing the country. 

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said that he does not know where Assad is, according to Fox News.

Assad’s reported departure was a pivotal moment in Syria’s 13-year civil war, potentially altering the balance of power across the Middle East where Iran has backed Assad for years.

"We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel," Netanyahu's post concluded.