Israel is continuing to bomb Syria a week after Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power. Last night, Israel dropped what has been described as an “earthquake bomb” on Syrian military and air defense sites in the coastal Tartus region. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described Israel’s bombing as the heaviest strikes in the area in more than a decade. According to the group, Israeli forces have launched over 800 strikes on Syria over the past week.

The Israeli government has also approved a plan to expand illegal settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. This comes days after Israel invaded Syrian territory to seize more of the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed the Biden administration has been in direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist Syrian armed group that led the surprise offensive that toppled Assad. We will have more on Syria after headlines.