LONDON

Britain on Friday called on Tel Aviv to respect Syria’s territorial integrity and warned that Israeli strikes risk destabilizing the war-torn country further.

"Israel’s strikes in Syria have reportedly killed civilians and risk destabilising Syria further," Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, wrote on X.

He called on Israel to "address legitimate security threats through diplomacy."

"A stable Syria is in the interests of the whole region," Falconer said.

On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes targeting several sites in the Syrian capital Damascus and the western provinces of Hama and Homs.

Israel’s military claimed that the strikes struck “military capabilities that remained” at the Hama airbase and T4 base in Homs, along with other military infrastructure in Damascus.

The Israeli army also launched a ground offensive in Daraa in southern Syria, where at least nine people were killed, according to local authorities.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.

Since the fall of the regime, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes that targeted military sites and assets across Syria, including fighter jets, missile systems, and air defense installations, according to reports.