The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apprehended members of a cell in Syria who were working on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, the IDF said on July 7. It was the second operation in two weeks in which the IDF targeted suspects linked to Iran’s IRGC-QF in southern Syria. Israeli units of the 210th Division continue to carry out operations in Syria, including on Mount Hermon and along the Golan border.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apprehended suspects in Syria who are part of “a terrorist cell operated by Iran,” the Israeli military said on July 2, one of several recent raids it has conducted along the border to detain suspects. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited the Golan on July 1 and met with Israeli officers. “We must maintain a high level of alertness and keep our eyes open at all times,” he said.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that “troops of the 3rd Brigade, under the command of the 210th Division, completed an operation to apprehend Hamas terrorists operating in the Beit Jinn area of Syria.”
Two Syrian groups claimed the first attack against Israel since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in Syria. A Syrian official told Reuters that the attackers include “remnants of Assad-era militias linked to Iran” who “have a vested interest in provoking Israeli retaliation.”
On May 29, an Israeli security official stated that Israel will not intervene militarily in support of any group in Syria. This stance follows previous Israeli intervention to protect the Syrian Druze amid pressure from Israeli Druze to prevent human rights abuses. Israel’s evolving stance reflects a delicate balancing act between security, humanitarian, and political interests and may mark a turning point in Syria’s sectarian conflict.
Israel conducted several airstrikes in Syria between April 30 and May 3 after sectarian clashes erupted in the country. “The IDF has carried out a warning operation and struck elements of an extremist group that was preparing to continue attacks on the Druze population,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said on April 30. The IDF followed up with more strikes in Syria aimed at warning Damascus against harming members of the Druze minority, while others targeted military sites.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike in southern Syria on March 25, stating it acted after gunmen fired on Israeli forces operating in the area. Syrian state media claimed that four civilians were killed. It is the latest clash in Syria as Israel continues to try to demilitarize the southern part of the country, an effort that has included airstrikes and ground operations in recent weeks.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes in southern Syria on the evening of March 17, targeting military command centers and “sites containing weapons and military vehicles belonging to the old Syrian Regime.” The operations are part of a widening Israeli campaign to demilitarize southern Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a building in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, stating it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command and control center. The IDF said it conducted the strike due to concerns about planned attacks against Israeli territory. The Israeli military has increasingly carried out strikes in recent months against former and current Syrian regime assets and various groups, including Hamas.
Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, the new chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), visited Israel’s border with Syria on March 9. He traveled to IDF positions and met with commanders. It is his first visit to the border since assuming the role and part of a wider series of Israeli moves to bolster the border and warn the new government in Damascus to demilitarize southern Syria.
An armed group called the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria recently formed with a stated goal of countering Israel’s military presence in the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the peak of Mount Hermon on December 17. The IDF seized the peak in the wake of the fall of the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad on December 8. “The IDF is here to protect the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of the State of Israel from any threat, from the most important place where it is possible to do so,” Katz said. The IDF is preparing to remain in areas that were previously a buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces along the border.
Israel’s Bashan Arrow operation in Syria continues. The Israelis have strengthened their presence in the Golan Heights DMZ and targeted more critical assets belonging to the former Assad regime.