Israel attacked Syria on Sunday, saying it was responding to rockets fired towards it from its neighbour.
Israel has attacked Syria by air along their shared border before, hitting targets it says belong to the Iranian military. Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of such attacks, but rarely acknowledge or discuss them.
In the past year alone, Israeli attacks on Syria have killed at least 44 people and injured more than 50.
Sunday’s attack with artillery and drones comes as Israel ramps up aggression on multiple fronts, including Gaza, Lebanon, occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as tensions soar due to Israeli police raids at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Below is a timeline of Israeli attacks on Syria in the past year:
April 9, 2023
Israel attacks Syria following rocket fire from Syria and on the heels of escalating violence in the region, including in Gaza, Lebanon, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, triggered by Israeli police raids at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
April 8, 2023
Israel launches attacks on Syria, with blasts heard from Masyaf city in Syria’s western Hama province. The attack ostensibly targeted an Iranian presence.
April 4, 2023
An Israeli air raid kills two civilians in the capital, Damascus, with reported damages in the area. The attack is the fourth that week, with previous attacks also hitting Damascus and the central province of Homs.
April 2, 2023
Israel launches air raids that wound five soldiers in Homs, and Syrian air defences intercept some of the missiles.
March 31, 2023
An attack kills two military advisers with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran’s foreign ministry said the two died fighting “terrorism” supported by Israel.
March 30, 2023
Two soldiers are wounded in Israeli air attacks on targets in the Damascus area that also cause material damage. Some of the missiles, launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, were shot down by Syrian air defences.
March 22, 2023
An Israeli attack hits Syria’s Aleppo airport, causing some material damage. The airport is important in channelling humanitarian aid into the country after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Syria and Turkey on February 6 – Israel hit it twice in March.
March 12, 2023
Three Syrian soldiers are wounded in Israeli attacks in central and west Syria. War monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said pro-Iran forces and a “scientific research centre” have a presence in the area.
February 19, 2023
Five people are killed and 15 others wounded in Israeli air raids on Syria’s capital that also severely damaged residential buildings. The raids hit a building in central Damascus’s Kafr Sousa neighbourhood, which is near a security complex with Iranian installations.
November 19, 2022
Four Syrian soldiers are killed and one wounded in Israeli attacks. SOHR said the raids targeted weapons and ammunition sites belonging to pro-Iranian groups in Homs and Hama and that Israeli forces targeted a Syrian air defence battery in Latakia. Syria’s air defences counter-attacked.
November 13, 2022
Two Syrian soldiers are killed and three wounded in Israeli air raids on the Shayrat Airbase in Homs. Syrian air defences intercepted several missiles. Israeli warplanes were seen over neighbouring Lebanon, whose airspace Israel sometimes crosses to attack Syria.
October 27, 2022
Israel attacks Damascus. Syrian forces shot down most of the missiles and no casualties were reported. The attack followed a similar attack that week.
September 17, 2022
Five soldiers are killed in an Israeli attack on Damascus International Airport – material damage is reported and Syrian air defences managed to down most of the missiles. This was the third Israeli attack on Syrian airports that month, with Aleppo airport the target of two earlier ones.
September 6, 2022
Three people are killed in an Israeli air attack on Aleppo airport. The runway is damaged and put out of service. Israel said it targeted a warehouse used by an Iran-backed militia. The attack was launched from the Mediterranean.
August 31, 2022
Israel attacks Syria’s Aleppo airport. Four missiles hit the runway and depots Israel said contain missiles supplied by Iran. No casualties were reported but the raids triggered explosions and fires. The same day, Syrian anti-aircraft defences intercepted missiles above Damascus – Syrian state television says the missiles are Israeli.
August 14, 2022
Three Syrian soldiers are killed and three others wounded in Israeli missile attacks near Damascus. Syrian air defences down missiles coming from southeast of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Two missiles also hit a Syrian military site in al-Qutayfah, Damascus countryside.
July 22, 2022
Three Syrian soldiers and three foreign nationals are killed in an Israeli attack that injures 10 others in Damascus. The missiles were launched from the Golan Heights and hit an air force intelligence facility, a high-ranking officer’s office, a car near the Mezzeh military airport, and an Iranian weapons depot in the area of Sayyida Zeinab.
July 2, 2022
Two civilians are wounded in an Israeli attack on Syria’s coast south of Tartous targeting weapons depots for Iran and Hezbollah. The attack was launched west of Tripoli in north Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian condemns the attack on a visit to Damascus.
June 10, 2022
Major damage to Damascus International Airport in an Israeli missile attack that puts the runway out of service. The missiles were fired from the Golan Heights. Syria’s ally, Russia, condemns the attack.
May 20, 2022
Three military officers are killed and four members of an air defence crew are injured by an Israeli missile attack near Damascus. Syrian forces intercepted some of the missiles launched from the Golan Heights.
April 27, 2022
Five Syrian soldiers and four others are killed in Israeli air raids near Damascus targeting an ammunition depot and Iranian positions in the country. Eight other people are wounded in the attack.
April 14, 2022
Israel fires multiple missiles towards Syrian military positions near Damascus. The attack causes damage in the suburb of Qatana, southwest of the capital. Some of the missiles are shot down by Syrian air defences.
