Syria

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (October 1 – 9 , 2024)

On October 1, 2024, the IRGC fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hassan Nasrallah and a senior IRGC officer in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Most of the missiles were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force and air defense forces, in collaboration with other countries. After the attack, senior Iranian officials stressed that the attack was carried out as part of their legitimate rights and that Iran did not want further escalation. However, they threatened a powerful response to an Israeli attack against them. Iranian Supreme Leader and other senior figures continued to express support for the Palestinian “resistance”. President Pezeshkian met with a senior Hamas delegation in Qatar and called for unity in the face of “Israel’s crimes.” The IRGC denied that Qods Force commander Qaani had been hit in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq claimed responsibility for 26 attacks against targets in Israel using drones and cruise missiles. Two IDF soldiers were killed by a drone in the Golan Heights. The pro-Iranian Iraqi militias continued to express willingness to fight alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon and threatened retaliation against American interests if the United States helped Israel attack Iran. The Houthis announced airstrikes using ballistic missiles and drones against Israel. The Israeli Air Force intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone. There were no casualties. In addition, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks against two vessels in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (September 30 – October 7 ,2024)

On the night of September 30, 2024, the IDF began a limited ground maneuver in south Lebanon. The forces eliminated hundreds of terrorist operatives, and located and destroyed terrorist facilities hidden in civilian sites. Ten IDF soldiers were killed. The IDF continued airstrikes on Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut and throughout the country, and carried out targeted attacks on senior Hezbollah terrorists; This past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 148 attacks on targets in Israel and on IDF forces in south Lebanon, twice the number of attacks of the previous week. Hezbollah announced the launch of Operation Khaybar in response to the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, and launched rocket barrages at the Tel Aviv and Haifa areas. Hezbollah also issued false information regarding the extent of the damage it had done to IDF forces in south Lebanon.; The IDF attacked Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut while Hashem Safi al-Din, head of the Central Council and Nasrallah's successor, was present. Hezbollah has not yet officially issued a report on his condition; Senior Hezbollah figures claimed the Israeli attacks and the elimination of senior officials did not affect the organization's activities, including combat against IDF forces in south Lebanon and attacks on Israeli territory. Hezbollah continued to link the cessation of fighting in south Lebanon to the cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip; Lebanese authorities said that more than 2,000 people had been killed in Lebanon since the fighting began on October 8, 2023. In addition, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced, most of them since the increase in Israeli attacks which began on September 23, 2024; The prime minister of the Lebanese interim government called for a ceasefire and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The American State Department denied the Lebanese foreign minister's claim that Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire before he was killed in the Israeli attack; Syria: Attacks attributed to Israel were reported in the Damascus and Homs regions. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (September 25 – October 1, 2024)

Senior Iranian officials continued to express support for Hezbollah and Lebanon following the Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, in which Hezbollah’s secretary-general and the commander of the Qods Force’s Lebanon Corps were killed. The officials threatened that Iran would retaliate against Israel; The Iranian president accused the United States and Europe of lying when they claimed that a ceasefire would be reached in the Gaza Strip if Iran did not respond to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh; The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that Iran had no agents in the region and that the “resistance” organizations represented themselves; Two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis at central Israel were intercepted. In response, the Israeli Air Force attacked power plants and a seaport used by the Houthis in Ras Issa and al-Hudaydah. Senior Houthi officials claimed that five civilians had been killed and threatened to continue operating against Israel in support of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon; The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for 23 attacks against targets in Israel, most of them after the announcement that Nasrallah had been killed. The pro-Iranian militias threatened to escalate their attacks if Israeli military forces entered southern Lebanon. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (September 23 – 30 ,2024)

This past week, the IDF attacked thousands of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including advanced weapons hidden in civilian locations. High-ranking Hezbollah terrorists were killed in targeted attacks in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut, including Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, and Ali Karki, commander of the "southern front."; This past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 77 attacks on military and civilian targets in Israel, including the first launches of surface-to-surface missiles at the greater Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. Several people were injured by debris falling from interceptions and property was damaged; Hezbollah announced the death of ten senior figures and operatives in IDF attacks in Lebanon, with Nasrallah heading the list. However, according to estimates, the number of dead was higher and Hezbollah has announced only the most senior dead. In addition, 61 deaths of terrorist operatives from other organizations were reported, including the Hamas commander in Lebanon and 50 Amal operatives; Na'im Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary general, delivered the first speech by a senior member of the organization since the death of Nasrallah, promising that Hezbollah would continue its "support" for the Gaza Strip and the "defense" of Lebanon. He claimed a new secretary general would be elected in the near future; The authorities in Lebanon reported at least 1,640 people killed since the fighting began on October 8, 2023, more than 1,000 since September 16, 2024. Najib Mikati, prime minister of the Lebanese interim government, estimated that the number of displaced people in Lebanon could reach one million. The UN said that 100,000 people had crossed the border into Syria; Syria: The IDF eliminated the head of the Hamas network in southern Syria. According to reports, Israeli aircraft attacked along the Syria-Lebanon border to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (September 18 – 25 , 2024)

Iran strongly condemned Israel’s operations in Lebanon, including the detonation of the communications devices, the killing of Ibrahim Aqil, and the extensive airstrikes. However, at this stage, Iran refrains from committing to direct military involvement in the campaign alongside Hezbollah, focusing instead on diplomatic efforts. These efforts are being led by the president and foreign minister, who are actively participating in the UN General Assembly deliberations.; Additional Iranian threats to avenge Ismail Haniyeh’s death; Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that if the Islamic nation used its internal power, it could remove Israel from the heart of the Muslim community. Iranian President Pezeshkian used his speech at the UN General Assembly to accuse Israel of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity"; The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for 13 drone and cruise missile attacks against targets in Israel this past week, five of them in one day. The Israeli Air Force fighter jets and air defense units intercepted most of the launches. Three drones exploded in the Golan Heights and the Arava. There were no casualties; The pro-Iranian Shiite militias also announced that they would assist Hezbollah with a shipment of fighters and weapons in the event of an Israeli land invasion of southern Lebanon; A senior security advisor to Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq was killed in an attack attributed to Israel in Syria; Senior Houthi officials threatened that they would continue launching rockets into Israeli territory, saying they are prepared for a long confrontation. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (September 16-23, 2024)

This past week Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 77 attacks on military and civilian targets in Israel, including the first attacks on the Jezreel Valley, the Lower Galilee and the suburbs around Haifa. An attempt by a Hezbollah terrorist squad to plant an explosive device bomb near an IDF post was foiled. Two IDF soldiers were killed in the attacks and five civilians were injured; substantial property damage was reported; Israeli Air Force aircraft expanded their attacks on Hezbollah terrorist targets and operatives in south Lebanon and the Lebanon Valley, including preventive strikes to prevent rockets from being fired and missiles from being launched into Israeli territory. In an attack in Beirut, Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah's operations and commander of the Radwan Force, was killed, along with the top commanders of the Radwan Force. Hezbollah announced that 65 operatives and commanders had been killed during the past week; The IDF warned the residents of south Lebanon to evacuate their homes in preparation for attacks on Hezbollah weapons hidden in civilian sites. As a result, there was a mass departure of residents from south Lebanon to the north of the country; Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, spoke after the explosions of Hezbollah operatives' hand-held communications devices and accused Israel of committing "massacres" and "declaring war." He warned that retaliation would be "an eye for an eye."; Najib Mikati, prime minister of the Lebanese interim government, warned of a "descent into the unknown" and called for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions to calm the situation. Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, accused Israel of trying to transform south Lebanon into "scorched earth." Read more...

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Syria

Syria is a central factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict and has been in conflict with the State of Israel since its establishment. Syria’s basic position rejects the Zionist idea and views the State of Israel as a foreign element that must be uprooted. Since its establishment, Syria has led the political and military struggle against pre-state Israel and the State of Israel. Syria is demanding that Israel give up its control over an area of about 1,200 square kilometers in the Golan Heights, which was occupied by Israel in 1967. In view of its profound hostility to Israel, Syria has supported the Palestinian terrorist organizations and Hezbollah for many years. Syria was designated as a terrorism-supporting state by the US State Department back in 1979.

Despite repeated attempts since the early 1990s to reach a peace agreement with Syria, an official state of war still exists between it and Israel. These relations have been influenced by the involvement of elements such as the Soviet Union and Iran, Syria’s relations with other Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon) and its relations with the Palestinians. These relations have also been influenced by the fact that Syria perceives Israel’s territory as part of what it calls Greater Syria.

Since early 2011, there has been a civil war in Syria between President Bashar Assad and the forces loyal to him, and rebel organizations with various ideologies and political orientation. The civil war has led to the destruction of the country’s infrastructure, the removal of Syria from the Arab League, and tension in its relations with Sunni countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey). Syria’s relations with the United States and Western countries have also deteriorated. On the other hand, the Syrian regime is supported by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, and by Shiite militias supported by Iran.