Why is Israel attacking Syria?

After the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Israel has been encroaching on its neighbour’s territory.

Since al-Assad’s dramatic flight to Russia on Sunday, Israel has attacked Syria more than 400 times and, despite UN protests, launched a military incursion into the buffer zone that has separated the two countries since 1974.

These aggressions have come as the country tries to transition away from 53 years of dynastic family rule.

In the last few months, Israel has attacked its neighbour Lebanon and has continued to wage a war condemned as genocide on the beleaguered population of Gaza.

But why is Israel now attacking Syria? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why is Israel attacking Syria?

Israel has justified its attacks on Syria for years by claiming it is eliminating Iranian military targets. However, Iran has said none of its forces are currently in Syria.

Now, Israel says it is focused on destroying Syrian military infrastructure.

Israel claims that it is trying to stop weapons from landing in the hands of “extremists”, a definition it has applied to a rotating list of actors, most recently Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the primary Syrian opposition group that led the operation to overthrow al-Assad.

What did it hit?

Israel says it has targeted military facilities, including weapon warehouses, ammunition depots, airports, naval bases and research centres.

Israel has also deployed military units to the buffer zone along the Golan Heights separating Syria and Israel. The terrain has been an officially designated demilitarised zone as part of a 1974 UN-brokered ceasefire deal.

Israel occupies approximately two-thirds of the Golan Heights, with the UN-administered buffer zone spanning a narrow, 400-square-kilometre (154-sq-mile) area. The rest has been controlled by Syria.

Syrian security forces have also reported Israeli tanks advancing from the Golan Heights into Qatana, 10km (six miles) into Syrian territory and close to the capital.

Israeli military sources have denied any such incursion.

In addition to the more than 100 strikes on the capital, Israel carried out attacks in Al Mayadin in the east, Tartous and Masyaf in the northwest, at the Qusayr crossing with Lebanon, and the Khalkhalah military airport in the south.

What is Israel’s justification for this latest attack on a sovereign nation?

That it is acting in its defence.

Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that the former Syrian territory along the Golan Heights, which has been classed as a demilitarised zone since 1974, would remain part of Israel “for eternity”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has defended the Israeli strikes since Sunday, saying Israel’s intention had been solely to target suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rocket sites – to prevent their seizure by armed groups opposed to Israel’s ongoing offensives on its neighbours.

At a briefing for foreign media, Sa’ar said Israel was acting “in a precautionary manner”.

“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they not fall into the hands of extremists,” he said.

What does Israel want from Syria?

That’s not clear yet.

The government has not made any statements outside of “acting in the interest of Israel’s defence” that could indicate its intent.

However, some prominent Israeli figures have spoken about their views of what should happen next.

Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity party and a Netanyahu opponent, told reporters on Monday that this was “an opportunity of historic proportion” for Israel. He called on policymakers to “develop our relations with the Druze, Kurds and other groups in Syria”, suggesting that Israel may be able to develop relations with groups who have traditionally opposed the coalition of armed opposition that deposed al-Assad.

The same day, The Times of Israel interviewed a researcher and former member of the Israeli military, who took Gantz suggestion even further, suggesting that Syria could be broken up into a series of cantons, with each free to cooperate with external actors, including Israel.

“The modern nation-state in the Middle East has failed,” former Colonel Anan Wahabi, who identified as a member of the Druze minority, said.

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