Israel denied on Tuesday it had advanced into Syria beyond a buffer zone with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that during the night of 9-10 December, Israeli Navy missile ships destroyed the Syrian navy as part of a large-scale operation to eliminate strategic threats to the country.

Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, whose rule by Syrian President Bashar Assad ended with takeover by rebels.