The Israeli army has struck more than 350 Syrian military sites over the last 48 hours, eviscerating most of the country’s “strategic weapons stockpiles”, Israel said on Tuesday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the wave of bombs in neighbouring Syria was for defensive purposes, necessary to prevent the weapons from being used against Israel following the Syrian government’s rapid collapse.

Israel acknowledged on Tuesday that its troops were developing a border buffer zone inside neighbouring Syria, but denied its forces were advancing toward the Syrian capital of Damascus. It also confirmed it had attacked Syria’s naval fleet at the port of Latakia.

The Syrian government was toppled over the weekend, when jihadi-led rebels ousted President Bashar Assad after 24 years of dictatorial rule.

The United States said Tuesday it would recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main armed group at the forefront of the offensive which swept the Assad regime before it, has long disavowed its former links with al-Qaeda.