Israel-Syria

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Israeli strikes in Syria leave 14 dead, Syrian state media says The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 14 with more than 40 wounded, Syrian state media said Monday morning. Read more.

What to know: One of the strikes targeted a scientific research center in Maysaf and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous.   There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups. Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Shooting attack at the West Bank-Jordan border crossing kills 3 Israelis   US believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, AP sources say   As US colleges raise the stakes for protests, activists are weighing new strategies

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Israel strengthens hold on Syrian buffer zone

Israeli warplanes pounded military sites in Syria after Israeli troops seized a border buffer zone following the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s rule. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus.

https://apnews.com/syria-civil-war-live-updates-assad-rebels-israel?

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Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said Tuesday, and the Israeli defense minister announced that his forces had destroyed Syria’s navy.

https://apnews.com/article/syria-israel-airstrike-assad-war-b90edb8dbe8268dacf90e59ca601e2e3?

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Netanyahu says Israeli troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israeli forces will stay in a buffer zone on the Syrian border, seized after the ouster of Syria’s President Bashar Assad, until another arrangement is in place “that ensures Israel’s security.”

https://apnews.com/article/syria-war-assad-israel-news-17-december-2024-4d7f0b35e08d5e853c776193272fb2d6?

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Israeli military strikes near Syria’s presidential palace after warning over sectarian attacks Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday, hours after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of the Druze minority sect in southern Syria. The strike came after days of clashes between pro-Syrian government gunmen and fighters who belong to the sect near the capital, Damascus. Read more.

Why this matters: The Israeli army said that fighter jets struck adjacent to the area of the Palace of President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus. Its statement gave no further details. Friday’s strike was Israel’s second on Syria this week, and attacking an area close to the presidential palace appears to send a strong warning to Syria’s new leadership that is mostly made up of Islamist groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.   The clashes broke out around midnight Monday after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric. But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, which angered many Sunni Muslims.   The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria, while most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Drone strikes vessel carrying aid to Gaza   Syrian Druze spiritual leader slams government over deadly sectarian clashes   Netanyahu’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear program is muted with Trump in power

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Israel threatens to escalate involvement in Syria as a ceasefire collapses Clashes raged in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Wednesday after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed and Israel threatened to escalate its involvement in support of the Druze religious minority. Read more.

Why this matters: Since the December ousting of Syria’s longtime despotic leader, Bashar Assad, the country’s new rulers have struggled to consolidate control over the territory.   The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province.   In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Assad’s fall, saying it doesn’t want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ 20 Palestinians killed at aid distribution site, says Israeli-backed aid group   Netanyahu’s governing coalition is fracturing. Here’s what it means for Israel and Gaza   Yemen fighters allied to exiled government claim seizure of tons of Iranian-supplied Houthi weapons   Syrian government and leaders of Druze minority announce new ceasefire as Israel continues strikes Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country’s postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel. Read More.     ?? Israel bombed targets in Syria's capital today. U.S. officials are concerned that the attacks could destabilize the new Syrian government. Go deeper.

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US envoy says Syria and Israel agree to ceasefire as Druze minority and Bedouin clans clash in Syria

MAZRAA, Syria (AP) — U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said early Saturday that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups.

https://apnews.com/article/syria-druze-bedouins-israel-clashes-fighting-54476ab26aac668babe858aa805b7170?

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"Acted like a madman"

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos via Getty Images

As smoke and debris swirled over the Syrian presidential palace this past week, the chatter in the West Wing grew louder: Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control, Axios' Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report. "Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time," a White House official told Axios. "This could undermine what Trump is trying to do." Why it matters: Six U.S. officials tell Axios that despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on Friday that halted escalation in Syria, the week ended with the White House significantly more alarmed about Netanyahu. ? A second senior U.S. official pointed to this week's shelling of a Catholic church in Gaza, which led President Trump to call Netanyahu and demand an explanation. "The feeling is that every day there is something new," the official said. "What the f***?" A third U.S. official said there's a growing sense inside the Trump administration that Netanyahu's trigger finger is too itchy and he's too disruptive: "Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave." Netanyahu's spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. Behind the scenes: "The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise," a U.S. official said. "The president doesn't like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in." Trump has refrained from public criticism and tried to influence Netanyahu privately. It's not totally clear if he shares his advisers' recent concerns about Israel's actions in Syria. "Bibi's political agenda is driving his senses. It will turn out to be a big mistake for him long-term," a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said the damage the Israelis had done to their standing with Trump over the past week didn't seem to be breaking through to them: "The Israelis need to get their head out of their asses." Story continues below.

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Part 2: Testing Trump's patience

The tensions came after Netanyahu met with Trump twice while in D.C. two weeks ago, and the two leaders seemed closer than ever in the afterglow of the war with Iran, Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report.

• In addition to Syria and the attack on the church in Gaza, the murder of Palestinian American Saif Musallet by a mob of Israeli settlers last weekend also sparked pushback from the Trump administration toward Netanyahu's stridently pro-settler government.

Mike Huckabee — the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who days earlier visited Netanyahu's corruption trial in a show of support — released a series of statements calling the attack "terrorism" and demanding answers. Yesterday, he also visited a Christian community in the West Bank that had been targeted by settler attacks.

• Huckabee, long an effusive supporter of Israel, criticized the Israeli government this past week for making it harder for American evangelicals to obtain travel visas.

?? The other side: The Israelis were surprised by the U.S. pushback over the Syria strikes.

• A senior Israeli official said Trump had encouraged Israel to hold parts of Syria during his first weeks in office, and hadn't previously expressed concerns about Israel's interventions in the country.

Tal Axelrod contributed reporting.