Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus after they pushed into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Associated Press reporters in the capital heard heavy airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday on the city and its suburbs. Photographs circulating online showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes.

There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – that have taken control of much of the country. Their lightning advance brought an end to the Assad family’s half-century rule after nearly 14 years of civil war. There are concerns over what comes next.

‘Damascus is more beautiful now’

Life in the capital is slowly returning to normal after the overthrow of Assad, who fled the country over the weekend and has been granted political asylum in Russia.

Private banks reopened on instructions from the Central Bank, said Sadi Ahmad, who runs a branch in the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighborhood. He said all his employees returned to work.

Shops also reopened in the city’s ancient Hamidiyeh market, where armed men and civilians could be seen buying things like perfume and ice cream. A clothing shop owner, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said he hoped vendors would no longer have to pay bribes to security officials.

At Bakdash, a famous ice cream shop, a poster outside read: “Welcome to the rebels of free Syria. Long live free Syria.”

“Damascus is more beautiful now,” said Maysoun Qurabi, who was shopping in the market. “It has a soul, and people feel at ease and secure.” Under Assad, she said, “people were hungry and scared. The regime was strong.”

Israeli incursion draws condemnation

In the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall, Israeli forces moved into a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) buffer zone inside Syria that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war, a move it said was taken to prevent attacks on its citizens.

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