Israel has carried out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists.
According to reports it has also seized a buffer zone inside the country after Syrian troops withdrew.
Sources told the Reuters news agency that a number of Israel’s strikes were targeting airbases.
Two Syrian security sources said dozens of helicopters and planes had been destroyed, while much of the infrastructure on the bases was also damaged.
Syria latest – PM agrees to hand power to rebels
Qamishli airbase in northeast Syria, Shinshar base in the countryside of Homs and Aqrba airport southwest of the capital Damascus were all hit, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the former prime minister of Syria has said he has agreed to hand over power to the rebel group that toppled Bashar al Assad’s regime.
Speaking to Al Arabiya TV, Mohammed Jalali said he had made the agreement with what he called the “Salvation Government”.
Jalali said on Sunday he would remain in the country and would oversee the transition of power, which he said he wished to be peaceful.
Following Assad’s removal from power, more details of the brutality of his regime have come to light.
Dr Reem Alkasem told The World with Yalda Hakim about three detainees she had treated in Idlib.
She said one was a 20-year-old man who had been detained for five years, who “suffered from asthma, cough, fever and skin infections”.
He “had severe wounds on the skin of his back and arms” and “suffered from mental confusion, severe depression and anxiety”, she added.
A second young man, aged 23, had been detained for four years and “had wrist injuries, wounds, fractures, neck injuries and head trauma from long beatings”.
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A 55-year-old man “suffered from fractures in his lower limbs, wounds in his back and soft tissue injuries because of beatings”, Dr Alkasem added.
He was left with “mental confusion and anxiety” after his ordeal and “also suffered from breathing problems, weakness, and can’t talk”.
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Thousands freed from prisons
Earlier, the UN’s refugee chief has called for patience as millions weigh up whether to return to Syria following the end of the Assad regime.
“There is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home,” Filippo Grandi said in a statement.
“But with the situation still uncertain, millions of refugees are carefully assessing how safe it is to do so. Some are eager, while others are hesitant.”
He called for “patience and vigilance” as refugees weigh their options.