Israel launched what has been described as its most significant airstrike campaign in Syria in months, targeting military sites linked to the country’s interim regime under Ahmad al-Sharaa.
This wave of attacks, reported across multiple news outlets, marks a sharp escalation in Israel’s military operations in Syria, driven by concerns over the new leadership’s ties to jihadist groups and potential regional instability.
According to Ynetnews, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out dozens of strikes from Monday night into Tuesday morning, hitting radar installations, aerial detection systems, military headquarters, and weapons depots in southern Syria.
The IDF emphasized that these targets, affiliated with al-Sharaa’s administration, posed a direct threat to Israeli security and its operations.
The outlet reported at least 41 airstrikes in the Damascus countryside alone, with additional strikes near Homs and along the Lebanese border, highlighting the breadth of the operation.
Al Jazeera provided further details, noting that the strikes targeted military outposts in areas such as Sa’sa, Qatana, and the Daraa region, as well as the Syrian army’s 90th Brigade in Quneitra.
Residents and local media, including Syria TV, reported hearing low-flying Israeli warplanes and a series of explosions, underscoring the intensity of the assault.
The news agency quoted the IDF stating that the strikes aimed to “eliminate future threats” by dismantling the new regime’s military infrastructure near Israel’s borders.
The BBC contextualized this operation within Israel’s broader strategy following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
Since then, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes to prevent strategic weapons from falling into the hands of extremist groups.
The latest campaign, however, stands out for its scale and focus on the interim government, which Israel views as a potential security risk due to its connections to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate now leading Syria’s transitional authority.
CNN reported earlier instances of Israel’s intensified strikes, such as the 480 airstrikes conducted in December 2024 following Assad’s ouster.
While that campaign aimed to destroy Assad-era stockpiles, the March 2025 operation shifts focus to the emerging power structure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have reiterated their stance against allowing regime-backed militants or armed jihadists to consolidate power near the Golan Heights, a concern echoed in the latest strikes.
Reuters highlighted Israel’s strategic objectives, noting that the military seeks to shape the security landscape in southern Syria.
The news outlet referenced Israeli officials’ fears that abandoned military outposts, still stocked with weapons, could fall into hostile hands, amplifying threats from groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which might use Syrian territory to launch attacks on Israel.
The operation comes amid heightened sectarian violence and political fragility in Syria, as reported by Haaretz on March 12, 2025.
Analyst Yaniv Kubovich wrote that Israel’s strikes coincide with the interim regime’s struggles to maintain control, including a recent massacre by al-Sharaa’s forces in Alawite regions, which has reinforced Israel’s assessment of the regime as an emerging threat requiring preemptive action.
While casualty figures remain unclear, earlier reports from Al Jazeera on February 26, 2025, documented Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Quneitra, Suweida, and Daraa that resulted in civilian deaths and the killing of two HTS militants, suggesting a pattern of collateral damage in such operations.
Syria’s state media condemned the latest attacks as “criminal,” calling for UN intervention, though no official response from the interim government or HTS has been widely reported as of March 12, 2025.
