Last Saturday, people in Damascus were surprised by the unusual sight of Israeli Hermes-450 drones, which usually fly daily over Gaza, soaring over the Syrian capital. For decades, Israeli aircraft have not been able to cross Lake Tiberias due to Syrian Air Defences, but now those defences are gone, allowing Israel free rein across Syria.
The previous night, and over the course of the previous two days, the Israeli Air Force carried out numerous airstrikes across Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO, it conducted 20 airstrikes, primarily targeting areas in Mount Qasioun, Barzeh, and Harasta in the countryside around Damascus.
The strikes hit the Brigade 41 tank assembly site in Izraa, a missile battalion in Muthabin (Daraa), an air defence battalion in Mount Shaara (Latakia), and locations around the First Division in Kiswah.
The most significant was a precise strike near the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus, which had been evacuated just one hour before the attack.
The Syrian Presidency issued a statement strongly condemning the Israeli airstrike that targeted the Presidential Palace. It described the attack as a deliberate act aimed at destabilising the country, exacerbating the security crisis, and threatening national unity.
The Syrian government called on the international community to take action against Israel’s repeated aggression, emphasising that Syria would continue on the path of resistance and respond to such attacks.
The Israeli Air Force published images of the strikes with a statement saying that “12 Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Syria, including anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile infrastructure.”
According to a joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, “this is a clear message to the Syrian regime that we will not allow the movement of forces south of Damascus and any danger to the Druze community.”
Netanyahu then met the leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, and repeated his warning to the Syrian government.
“The sheikh thanked me for the decisive action we carried out last night against the Presidential Palace compound in Damascus – an action intended to send a clear message to the Syrian regime: Israel is committed to protecting the Druze in Syria. We will not allow harm to come to them, and we will continue to act resolutely against any such attempts.”
These events followed violent clashes between new Syrian government forces and Druze armed factions in Jaramana and Sahnaya, resulting in 13 casualties. This prompted the Israeli intervention, which cited the protection of minorities as justification.
However, Druze elders in Sweida later proposed a peace meeting with the Syrian authorities attended by Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the former head of the Socialist Party, at the Presidential Palace in Damascus.
Jumblatt rejected calls for separation and international protection, which some Druze factions had been advocating.
Israeli statements followed, asserting that there was no intention for the Syrian Druze or other Druze communities to become separated from their respective countries.
Even so, the escalation could have continued and worsened had it not been for the intervention of Turkish fighter jets, which disrupted Israeli air operations for the first time.
According to the Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post, “during the Israeli strike near the Presidential Palace in Damascus overnight on Thursday, Turkish fighter jets reportedly conducted reconnaissance flights in the area where Israeli aircraft were operating.”
“The Turkish F-16s sent warning signals to the Israeli jets using their electronic warfare systems, and brief radio contact was made between the aircraft, allowing both sides to avoid confrontation.”
This may be the first time that Turkish and Israeli fighter jets have confronted each other over Syrian airspace, despite both sides having previously trained together in the Anatolian Eagle Exercises in Turkey under US sponsorship.
Israel was excluded from these drills in 2009 due to deteriorating relations with the Turkish Army.
Now, it seems that such encounters may become more frequent, as Turkey’s presence in Syria has effectively replaced Russia’s previously cautious involvement in the country. Turkey has expressed an interest in acquiring two air bases in central Syria, a move that was immediately rejected by Israel.
Israeli fighter jets were deployed to destroy the infrastructure of these airfields, preventing them from becoming operational.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated early this week that “Israel, unafraid to inflame the region, is clearly disturbed by Turkey’s growing influence and achievements in the region.”
“We are closely monitoring any steps Israel takes, or plans to take, regarding Turkey. Everyone must work towards building a new Syria based on unity and territorial integrity. Israel’s provocations promise nothing but blood, tears, and death.”
These events indicate that thus far Israel and Turkey have not found a settlement that will allow both sides to share geopolitical gains in Syria without engaging in military confrontations that could have negative consequences for regional stability.
The main reason is Israel’s rejection of any form of stability in Syria under a government that, according to the Israeli political leadership, is considered to be Islamist and extremist. Any attempt to strengthen the new Syrian Army is unacceptable to Israel, and preventing the Turkish presence in the country is aimed at avoiding military complications similar to those previously encountered with Russian forces on Syria’s west coast.
On the other hand, the new Syrian government is trying to appease the United States and reduce the pressure and threats against it. This was evident in its actions to arrest the leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian faction, including its Secretary General Talal Naji.
Additionally, the Syrian government is continuing security operations along the Lebanese border to prevent weapons smuggling to Hizbullah in coordination with the Lebanese Army.
At the same time, efforts are being made to neutralise the threat posed by remnants of the former Syrian Arab Army, which is continuing attritional operations in the Syrian coastal region.
The Syrian and Turkish governments are actively seeking a solution to neutralise what they see as the Kurdish threat in the north of Syria, especially after negotiations between the two sides stalled.
Both parties insist on the integration of the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian Army, but this has not yet been achieved. As a result, SDF forces have begun recruiting more fighters to reinforce frontline positions for renewed clashes.
Similarly, the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army has also been mobilised, and Turkish drones have reappeared over the Syrian Tishrin Dam.
Events this week signal many upcoming developments, despite all the parties being occupied with multiple challenges on different fronts and reflecting the unstable character of the region since the beginning of this year.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 8 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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