Israel's Largest Unprovoked Attack On Syria In Years Kills At Least 18

Written by Robert Inlakesh

Just before midnight on Sunday, Israel began launching waves of unprovoked airstrikes against Syrian targets in the center of the country. The attack was the largest committed by Israel against Syria since 2018, killing at least 18 and injuring around 40 people. Despite the hundreds of attacks perpetrated against Syrian civilian and military infrastructure, Damascus has chosen not to respond in years and instead takes its appeals to the United Nations.

“At around 23:20 p.m. (2020 GMT) on Sunday evening, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of northwestern Lebanon, targeting a number of military sites in the central region [of Syria],” reported Syrian-State media SANA. As a result of the strikes, the Syrian Health Ministry reported that 18 people were killed, including civilians, while an addition 37 were injured; 2 described as remaining in critical condition. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), claimed on the other hand that at least 25 had been killed in the Israeli attack. However, the SOHR is known for publishing unfounded claims, in this case it alleges that of the dead the majority were a combination of Hezbollah and Iranian proxy forces, in addition to 5 civilians and Syrian Arab Army soldiers. It does appear that the majority of those killed were active in the military filed, however, the precise breakdown is not yet fully understood.

At least three separate waves of strikes were reported to have occurred at the time, with air defense systems firing interceptor missiles at incoming projectiles. Explosions were heard in Damascus, Tartous, Hama, and Homs, although the primary targets appear to have been located in the city of Masyaf, where sensitive Syrian military sites are known to be located. A scientific research facility close to Masyaf city, where missile technology is developed, was reportedly struck, as were other targets related to the Syrian air defense and missile storage, although the extent of the damage is unclear.

The Largest Attack In Years

Despite the fact that the Israeli Air Force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Syria since that time, Syria has not responded since 2018. There is a debate as to why Damascus decides to refrain from striking back, some attributing this decision to their Russian allies, while others argue that it has more to do with the capacity to launch significant defensive maneuvers without things spilling over into a costly war.

While the Syrian State was fighting an intensive civil-war, against a Western-Gulf backed series of opposition groups between 2011 and 2018, the situation has somewhat stabilized since then. However, one third of Syrian territory is illegally under the de-facto control of the United States and their allies, while the north-western Idlib province is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and Turkey also occupies land across northern Syria. This, as EU-US sanctions have made it impossible for the Damascus-based government to reconstruct much of the nation that was torn apart during the war. Although, in recent years, a change in the military leadership has worked to the benefit of the SAA and its ability to fight. It is, however, argued that Syria would be greatly damaged should it enter armed conflict with Israel.

Despite this, there is growing frustration over the lack of any response from the Syrian government against Israel, especially over the past 11-months when 49,000+ Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Israel has attacked Syria over 70 times since the beginning of the war on Gaza and, although there have occasionally been rockets fired from Syrian territory by armed groups, the SAA has not acted or reacted against Israel. Instead, the Syrian government appeals to the United Nations as it has done continually since 2018, which does not act to restrain the Israelis in any way, even after numerous attacks against civilian neighborhoods, port facilities, and the nation's two International Airports.

Syria Used As Israel's Punching Bag

While Israel attacks southern Lebanon and Gaza, it does so with the understanding that it will receive military responses for its actions. Although Gaza is now in a state of all out war, Lebanese Hezbollah is waging a battle that is somewhat restricted to southern Lebanon and northern occupied Palestine, which is only possible due to the threat of major retaliation in the event that the Israelis begin expanding the battle elsewhere and targeting population centers.

When it comes to Syria, the opposite is the case. The Israelis understand that as long as they don't kill Iranians there will be no response. This has created a scenario where the Israeli military has free reign to strike almost anything they like, at any time, within Syria. As has been demonstrated for over 5 years now, the United Nations does absolutely nothing to implement international law, and the only other option is to use force to deter the Israelis.

So, when the Israeli regime is in a State of embarrassment and is seeking to secure small victories, it uses Syria as its punching bag, with full knowledge that the Syrian army will only use its air defenses and do nothing offensively. Saying this, it is not as if Syria plays no role in regional events, as it is the hub for the regional resistance against Israel and acts as a base of operations for countless armed groups throughout the region, also allowing for the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Therefore, it plays a major role in the fight against the Israeli military, without actually engaging directly in combat.

On Monday, former Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz publicly stated that Israel was faced with a decision: Sign a ceasefire agreement with Hamas or declare war against Lebanon. Gantz even told the Middle East Forum in Washington that “the time of the north has come and actually I think we are late on this,” adding that "we should seek to have a deal to get out our captives but if we cannot in the coming time, a few days or few weeks, or whatever it is, we should go up north.” This came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared that a change was coming to the military policy in the north.

The threats against Lebanon are inherently tied to the fate of Syria also, this is because of the fact that if the Israeli army choose to go to war against Hezbollah, they will have to launch a large-scale attack against Syrian territory as well. If Israel seeks to conduct a ground operation against Lebanon, it would be a suicide mission, should they deploy directly over the Lebanese border, and so it is more likely they will choose to invade Syria first. In the event that the Israelis aren't looking for a full-scale war, they will still likely attack targets throughout Syria to prevent supplies heading through to Lebanon also. This would also likely trigger action from armed groups in southern Syria.

While the recent deadly attack on Syria (which would be a declaration of war in just about any other context) may seem somewhat routine, it is clear that the Israelis are becoming more aggressive, and as a result of their failures in Gaza and Lebanon are becoming desperate. Therefore, this attack could signal the start of a wider campaign of attacks throughout the region.