On the evening of February 25, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes in Syria. The strikes came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for south Syria to be demilitarized. “The IDF struck military targets in southern Syria, including command centers and multiple sites containing weapons,” the Israeli military said.
The Israel Defense Forces also said that “the presence of military forces and assets in the southern part of Syria pose a threat to the citizens of Israel. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.” The strikes hit several areas, according to different reports. The New Arab reported that one target was Tell al Hara, a circular hill that overlooks the Israeli border of the Golan Heights. Syria’s Bashar al Assad regime previously used the hill as an intelligence base, and the IDF struck the site twice in 2019. At the time, Israel’s Ynet said the hill was used by Hezbollah and Iranians “to watch IDF movements.”
A second site reportedly struck by the IDF was near Kiswah in southern Syria’s Daraa province, according to a report by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA). The IDF has also hit this area in the past. In 2018, the IDF identified a military compound near Kiswah being used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF).
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on February 25 that “we will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon—any attempt by the Syrian regime forces and the country’s terrorist organizations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire.” Katz described this as a new policy “we have defined to demilitarize southern Syria” and said the Israeli Air Force had attacked in strength there.
On February 27, Katz provided more details on the new Israeli policy in southern Syria during a speech to the heads of regional councils in Israel. He said it is part of a broader policy in Gaza, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon in which the IDF is seeking to prevent “extremist organizations” from moving close to Israel’s border. The IDF continues to control Rafah in Gaza and operate against threats amid the ceasefire there. The IDF is doing the same in Lebanon amid a ceasefire, and it has launched a major operation in northern West Bank cities.
On February 25, Katz said that Israel had identified “the first attempt by the new regime to man positions and outposts—and the Air Force attacked and hit.” He said Israel views the new government of Ahmed Sharaa, who he referred to by Sharaa’s nom de guerre, Mohammed al Jolani, with suspicion. Katz noted that while Sharaa may now wear suits, “we don’t trust him.”
Katz stated that Israel first acted in December to take over the buffer zone along the 1974 ceasefire line as part of the policy of preventing threats from Syria. “Our policy is to remain there, at the peak of Mount Hermon and at the controlled points, indefinitely,” he said.
The defense minister also stated that Israel was considering how to support members of the Druze minority in Syria. “We are currently considering allowing those nearby to come and work in the Golan Heights on a daily basis and are preparing to provide them with assistance through organizations and in all kinds of ways. We want to see them protected—and we are working to do so in an informed manner,” Katz said.
Iran and the Kingdom of Jordan condemned the Israeli strikes on Syria. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeel Baqayi claimed the operations were a violation of the UN Charter and international law, according to Iranian state media. Baqayi accused Israel of “expansionist and aggressive actions” and called for an “immediate response” by the United Nations Security Council. King Abdullah of Jordan criticized the strikes while hosting Sharaa for a visit on February 26. Jordan’s state Petra News Agency noted that the king condemned the strikes and “stands with Syria’s territorial integrity.”
