Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on May 3 released video footage showing some of the strikes that targeted Syria overnight.
In a statement, the military said that 12 Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Syria, including anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.
“The IDF will continue to work to preserve freedom of aerial action to carry out its tasks and remove any threat in the area,” the military added.
The IDF carried out the strikes to warn Syria’s new Islamist-led interim government not to harm the Druze religious minority following deadly sectarian clashes near the capital, Damascus.
The strikes targeted Damascus, the western governorates of Latakia and Hamas, and the southern governorate of Daraa, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, which said that one civilian was killed at the city of Harasta near the capital, and four people were wounded in the town of Shathah in the countryside of Hama.
The sectarian clashes broke out earlier in the week in the Druze-majority towns of Jaramana and Sahnaya, as well as along a road linking Damascus with the southeastern governorate of al-Suwayda, the heartland of Druze in Syria. More than 100 people were reportedly killed.
In addition to the strikes, Israel in recent days took in 20 Syrian Druze who were apparently wounded in the clashes there, including five more overnight.
Interestingly, the latest Israeli strikes on Syria were condemned by Iran. This came despite the hostile stance Damascus has taken against Tehran over its past support to the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad.
“Today, it has become clear to everyone that the main goal of the occupying regime of Israel is to destroy and annihilate the defense, economic, and infrastructure capabilities of Syria as an independent country, so that it can pursue its evil ambitions in this country and the region,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Stopping “the Zionist regime’s warmongering and aggression against Syria” requires immediate and effective action by the international community, especially the countries of the region, the diplomat added.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, whose fighters were expelled from Syria along with Iranian forces after the fall of the Assad regime last December, also condemned the strikes.
“This Zionist aggression is a clear attempt to undermine the stability of the Syrian state and weaken its capabilities. It comes in the same context as its ongoing attacks on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,” the group said in a statement.
“We, in Hezbollah, stress the need to preserve the unity and sovereignty of Syria as an independent state. We express our confidence that the honorable people of Syria will be an impregnable barrier against these suspicious plans. We call on the international community, especially Arab countries, to take urgent action to halt this aggression against the countries of the region and their stability, sovereignty, and security,” it added.
The condemnations indicate that Iran and Hezbollah both see the escalation between Syria and Israel as a chance to approach the country’s new government.
So far, the Syrian government has taken no steps to establish relations with either side. However, growing sectarian tensions within the country, the failure to build a partnership with the West, the inability of Turkey to provide any meaningful support and the growing Israel threat could soon force Damascus to take such steps.
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