Israel denies that its troops are advancing towards Damascus, saying its goal is to protect the border and prevent weapons from falling into the hands of militants.

Israel has destroyed the Syrian navy with missiles as part of a broad campaign to "eliminate strategic threats," said Israel Katz, the Defense Minister of the Jewish state, during a visit to the naval base in Haifa.

In recent days, the capital Damascus, as well as the port of Latakia, have been the targets of Israeli airstrikes. According to the NGO Syrian Human Rights Monitoring Center (OSDH), Israel has carried out more than 300 air attacks since Bashar al-Assad fled on Sunday.

The UN called for an end to "Israeli strikes and troop movements" in Syria, where Israel "destroyed key military installations," reports ru.euronews.com.