Israeli television and mobile phone screens were filled this morning with the news and viral clips of the Assad regime’s fall in neighboring Syria.

After more than a decade of civil war, rebel forces entered Damascus overnight and brought an end to the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the “throne” some 24 years ago from his father, Hafez al-Assad.

Under both father and son, Syria was a key component in Iran’s “axis of resistance” that sought to eradicate the Jewish state. While Syrian and Israeli forces rarely engaged in direct conflict in the decades following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syria served as a conduit to supply anti-Israel forces such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

It also gave Iran a base of operations perched right on Israel’s border.

Now the country is in the hands of a collection of different opposition groups, many of them at odds with one another, and very few with friendly intentions toward Israel. The leading opposition groups consist largely of the remnants of ISIS, and are backed by Turkey.

Given the danger, Israel responded to the overnight developments by sending troops across the Syrian border to bolster defenses on the Golan Heights.

There is also some concern that this major blow to Iran and its proxies will prompt some kind of action against Israel, possibly as a distraction or to save face. On the other hand, the Iranian regime can ill afford another devastating Israeli response at this time.

This is a developing story.