Israel faces new Syria challenge as it adjusts to new strategy amid regional power struggle for influence

TEL AVIV — The Israeli Air Force connected Thursday struck the office of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad violent enactment successful Damascus, Syria, amid ongoing instability successful the state pursuing the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad by an al Qaeda-linked insurgency.

After the autumn of Damascus connected Dec. 8, 2024, Israel deployed troops to the demilitarized buffer portion with Syria portion besides launching a diplomatic violative to signifier the equilibrium of power.

"The deployment of Israeli forces is concentrated astir the Syrian [side of Mount] Hermon, the precocious grounds successful that country and beneath that connected the bluish portion of the Syrian Golan Heights — much oregon little along, but not beyond, the Bravo Line [marking the extremity of the buffer zone]," Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan Conricus, a erstwhile IDF spokesperson and present a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

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The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, visited and conducted a situational appraisal successful the Area of Separation successful Syria. (IDF)

He continued, "The superior menace is simply a crushed penetration towards Israeli communities connected the Golan Heights by assorted jihadi elements. Until the governmental and subject concern stabilizes and Israel tin person information guarantees that determination is so a sovereign entity successful power of Syria, which volition bounds the attack by assorted panic organizations, Israeli troops volition beryllium deployed."

While galore planetary players whitethorn beryllium consenting to crook a unsighted oculus to the carnage successful Syria successful hopes of resolving the astir 15-year crisis, analysts accidental Israel has nary specified illusions, prompting the IDF to behaviour implicit 300 strikes successful the country, including against Assad authorities aerial unit bases and suspected chemic weapons sites, successful the contiguous aftermath of the authorities change.

On Sunday, Israel seemingly upped the ante erstwhile the caller IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, held a situational appraisal successful the buffer portion with Syria. Zamir was the archetypal main of unit to person entered Syria.

"Immediately upon the autumn of the regime, [Israel] devastated Syrian subject capabilities to marque definite immoderate precocious capabilities and aerial defence [systems] would not autumn into the hands of this authorities and would beryllium cleared successful lawsuit Israel has immoderate aboriginal tendency to overfly [in] Syria," said John Hannah, a Senior Fellow astatine the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

Security forces loyal to the interim Syrian authorities thrust successful the backmost of a conveyance moving on a roadworthy successful Syria's occidental metropolis of Latakia connected March 9. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

"They've [also] acceptable up checkpoints successful definite Druze areas close connected the borderline [and] declared their willingness to support the Druze. Israel has a important Druze number of its ain who are loyal and bully citizens of Israel who combat successful its army. So, Israel has a heavy home interest and involvement with making definite that Druze communities adjacent its borders [in Syria] are not taxable to the kinds of threats and slaughter that we saw implicit the play on the [Syrian] coast," helium added.

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Some 1,000 Alawites, a number sect of Shiite Islam, arsenic good arsenic a fig of Christians were murdered implicit the people of a fewer days past week successful the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia. The killings person laid bare concerns implicit the caller Sunni Islamist authorities led by al-Sharaa, commandant of the al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that deposed Assad.

A banner depicting then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin and speechmaking "Justice Prevails" is displayed on a road successful the Syrian superior of Damascus connected March 8, 2022. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)

Conricus said that the massacres person validated Israel’s strategy, emphasizing that the persecution of the Alawites, Christians, Kurds and Druze colonisation constitutes a information to determination stability.

"There is simply a batch of sectarian unit by assorted overseas jihadi groups, which is simply a threat. Until lone the Syrian authorities controls the weapons, Israel cannot jeopardize the beingness of Israeli civilians," helium said.

"We cognize Hezbollah and Iranian factions proceed to effort to smuggle weapons into Syria, with Tehran inactive trying to run proxies. This is compounded by Turkish imperialistic behavior, which tin pb to confrontation," helium added. "I deliberation trying to support the borders defined by the French astatine the extremity of World War I volition beryllium a situation for the Syrian state."

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Ahmed al-Sharaa Hayat, erstwhile al Qaeda violent and current Interim President of Syria, successful Idlib, Syria, connected the borderline with Turkey connected Feb. 7, 2023.  (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

Jonathan Spyer, manager of probe astatine the Middle East Forum who has reported from Syria, told Fox News Digital that Jerusalem’s purpose is for Syria to stay decentralized and weak, alternatively than agreed nether the enactment of jihadi forces.

 "Turkey is the main backer of HTS, and Israel regards Ankara arsenic a hostile state wherever Hamas had an progressive operations office. Turkey has been supportive of Hamas successful the war," helium said.

"While Russia is opposed to the planetary bloc led by the U.S., of which Israel is simply a part, determination is nary nonstop clash betwixt the 2 nations. Russia did not question to impede Israel’s bombing run against Iran successful Syria."

Israel is reportedly pressuring the Trump medication to guarantee Syria remains fragmented, by giving the Russians a greenish airy to support its bases successful the state to antagonistic Turkey.

People question guns successful the aerial arsenic they stitchery to observe the autumn of the Syrian authorities successful Umayyad Square successful Damascus, Syria, connected Dec. 8, 2024. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

In 2015, Russia intervened successful Syria connected behalf of the Assad regime, mounting up outposts successful the Middle East for the archetypal clip since the extremity of the Cold War. Jerusalem and Moscow person created a deconfliction mechanics to debar nonstop subject encounters erstwhile the IDF strikes Iranian panic assets successful Syria, on with those destined for Hezbollah successful Lebanon.

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"HTS is an enactment that Israel knows well. It was determination for respective years anterior to autumn of Assad and its grounds shows it is simply a Sunni Jihadi Islamist enactment supportive of [Hamas’] Oct. 7 [massacre] and opposed to Israel and Jews," Spyer said.

"Israel’s acquisition anterior to Oct. 7, connected Oct. 7, and successful the Gaza warfare taught Israelis not to person illusions regarding Sunni Islamists adjacent erstwhile they accidental they are moderate," helium added.