Syria's new authorities accused Israel of an unlawful military intervention on December 15, as Israeli forces continued operations in southern Syria, Syria TV reported.

Israel has conducted more than 800 airstrikes across Syria since the departure of Bashar al-Assad on December 8. With the country's air force, navy and army bases destroyed further south, Israeli troops are slowly edging closer to Damascus, declaring a "sterile buffer zone" between the two countries in the Golan area. 

"We do not intend to enter into conflict with Israel," Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, said in a televised address, his first public comments on Israeli military actions since assuming power last week. 

Al-Sharaa argued that Israel no longer has any justification for strikes on Syria, citing the departure of Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian forces from Syrian territory. 

Overnight on December 14, Israeli air forces carried out more than 50 strikes across Syria, including targets in Damascus, according to military sources, even as al-Sharaa characterised Assad's removal as "a victory over dangerous Iranian political projects in the region."

Israel's military has moved into multiple areas previously under Syrian government control, with the 474th Golan Brigade, Special Forces Unit 510 "Shaldag" and 810th Reserve Brigade conducting ground operations that have secured at least 20 settlements in Quneitra and Rural Damascus provinces, according to military sources.

"Israel's justifications for intervention sound weak," a Syrian opposition representative said earlier on Syria TV, calling for diplomatic solutions while acknowledging the country's war fatigue.

Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi defended the operations during a visit to troops in the Golan Heights. "We are not intervening in what is happening in Syria. We have no intention of managing Syria," Halevi said. "We are unequivocally intervening in what determines the security of Israeli citizens here."

The Israeli military has established agreements with local Druze villages in southern Syria for weapons collection while preparing contingency plans for potentially deeper advances. "In the event of further developments, the IDF is also preparing for scenarios requiring capture of additional areas in southern Syria," a senior Israeli military source said.

“The IDF is conducting dialogue with local officials in the Druze villages in southern Syria – and in the talks, they reached agreements according to which local authorities in the villages collect the weapons in the area,” the IDF said.

Israeli forces have reportedly taken control of multiple strategic points, including Mazraat Beit Jinn in Rural Damascus province and the town of Khan Arnabeh while establishing checkpoints in the region.

The Israeli army has reduced civilian defence mobilisation in the Golan Heights, releasing most readiness units to their homes while maintaining their weapons and alert status, as regular forces occupy defensive positions along the frontier.

The military developments come as Syria grapples with a political transition following President Bashar al-Assad's departure on December 8.

Al-Assad arrived in Moscow with his family after accepting the Kremlin's offer of asylum, Russian state news agency TASS reported on December 8.

The former dictator departed Damascus by private jet late December 7, after initially landing in Abu Dhabi as first reported by bne IntelliNews, as opposition forces closed within kilometres of the Syrian capital. The timing of his subsequent departure from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow remains unclear, according to diplomatic sources.