Israel has attacked several locations across Syria, a move condemned by Damascus as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.
Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said the attacks “serve as a warning for the future”.
Using Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s former nom de guerre, “Jolani”, he threatened him: “If you allow hostile forces to enter Syria and threaten Israeli security interests, you will pay a heavy price.”
He did not clarify what he meant by “hostile forces”.
Here’s all you need to know about Israel’s aggression against Syria.
When and where were the attacks?
According to the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli raids on April 2 nearly destroyed the Hama airbase and injured dozens.
Israel also hit the T4 airbase near Palmyra in central Syria, one of the country’s most strategic and largest airfields.
There are roads connecting T4 to Damascus and Homs, giving it a logistical advantage as well.
According to reports, Turkiye is interested in stationing defence systems and aircraft in the base.
On Thursday, Israel shelled near Nawa, in the southern province of Deraa, with authorities saying nine civilians were killed and several wounded.
Are Israel and Syria not on good terms?
Syria and Israel have never had formal relations.
Since coming to power after toppling al-Assad, President al-Sharaa has maintained that he and his government do not want to fight Israel and that he will not allow Syria to be used by external parties as a launching pad for attacks.
He has condemned Israel’s attacks on Syria and its creeping expansion beyond the already-occupied Golan Heights.
For its part, the Israeli leadership has called Syria’s transitional government “a terror group from Idlib that took Damascus by force”.
It also often refers to the Syrian government as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is the armed group led by al-Sharaa that spearheaded the offensive against autocratic former President Bashar al-Assad last December.
What does Israel say it wants from Syria?
Within the framework of its justifications, Israel says it is “securing itself”, and its prime minister made some unusual demands.
Speaking in late February, Netanyahu said: “We will not allow forces from the ‘HTS organisation’ or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus.”
Israeli forces occupied the Syrian demilitarised territory bordering Syrian land that Israel occupies – including the vital water resources of the Yarmouk riverbed and al-Wehda Dam – as soon as al-Assad fled the country.
Netanyahu announced they would remain indefinitely.
According to Ynet News, the Israeli army has advertised “hiking tours”, where tourists, guided by Israeli soldiers, are encouraged to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover by trespassing through Syrian territory seized after al-Assad’s fall, after first crossing through the Golan Heights, which itself has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.
Robin Yassin Kassab, Syrian writer and co-author of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, said he is not surprised that Israel is trying to occupy more territory.
“Israel is opportunistic, and they will always see what they can get away with. If they can get away with taking more territory, then they will take more territory,” he said.
Does Israel have other intentions?
Israel reportedly wants to thwart Turkish influence in Syria, sources involved in United States-Israeli discussions on the subject told the Reuters news agency in February.
Reuters reported that Israel was lobbying US officials that, for Israel’s benefit, Russia should keep its bases in Syria.
According to sources who spoke to Reuters, US officials were surprised that Israel would pitch the continued presence of Russia, rather than turn to the US’s NATO ally Turkiye to provide stability in the region.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has made accusations against Ankara of being a “negative” influence.
“They are doing their utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate. It’s clear that is their intention,” he told a news conference in Paris on Thursday.
Did Turkiye say anything about Israel’s attacks?
On Thursday, Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel must withdraw from Syria.
“To establish security throughout the region, Israel must first abandon its expansionist policies, withdraw from the territories it occupies, and stop undermining efforts to establish stability in Syria,” the ministry said.
Turkiye played a key role in supporting Syria’s opposition during the war against al-Assad and his forces and has maintained strong relations with the transitional government now in Damascus.
What can Syria do?
Very little, since Syria is physically and economically in ruins due to 14 years of civil war, Kassab said.
Al-Sharaa also has few people he can ask for help other than Turkiye, he noted.
“It is not the government [fighters] that are fighting Israel. It is local people in Syrian towns trying to defend themselves,” Kassab told Al Jazeera.
He added that locals in Homs and Hama had mobilised to try and push back Israel.
However, he said, Israeli media was calling these fighters “members of HTS”, using the same terminology that the Israeli government was using to justify attacks in southern Syria.
“It’s appalling that the so-called international community is not doing anything to stop Israel,” Kassab added.
