Israeli Strikes Hit Multiple Targets in Syria

Facts

• Syrian state media reported on Wednesday that Israeli airstrikes hit multiple targets in Syria, including the coastal city of Tartous and the southern Hama region, killing two Syrian soldiers and wounding six others.¹
• The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that strikes first hit the coast of Syria before hitting the Hama countryside — allegedly targeting a scientific research center.²
• It's believed that the strike at Tartous targeted Syrian air defenses. In recent years, a number of Syrian soldiers in air defense units have been killed or wounded in airstrikes attributed to Israel.³
• The Observatory claimed that one of the targets was a weapons depot used by [Lebanese] Hezbollah — [a powerful Iranian-backed political party and armed group] — alleging that a fighter of unknown nationality was killed.⁴
• In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes inside government-controlled Syria — including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports — despite rarely acknowledging or discussing the operations.⁵
• It's widely believed that Israel targets military infrastructure in Syria to counter Iran’s presence in the country. Most recently, an alleged Israeli strike in late August hit Aleppo's international airport, putting it out of service for two days.³

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Associated Press, ³The times of israel, ⁴Al Jazeera and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Foreign Affairs. Israel has been conducting airstrikes against suspected Iranian weapons transfers and personnel and its proxies in Syria for almost a decade. Though the strikes are part of a low-intensity conflict to slow Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, the West has seemingly dropped its previous plan of diplomacy to instead allow Israel and other allies to use military force to settle their grievances with Tehran. This risky strategy underestimates the potential magnitude and repercussions of a military escalation.
• Narrative B, as provided by Al. Syria is a conflict zone involving multiple actors, potentially causing the 'shadow war' to only get worse. Meanwhile, Iran — in coordination with Russia and controlling much of the Syrian airspace — risks pushing the conflict over the edge. Israel has been clear that it won't permit Iran to freely move weapons and fighters through Syria if such activities threaten Israeli security. Israel has justified targeting Iranian assets in any of the countries into which Tehran has dug its tentacles.