For information regarding Israel’s involvement in Syria prior to November 2024, see section 1.3.5. of the EUAA COI Report Syria – Security Situation (October 2024).
Israel, while celebrating the fall of Assad as a ‘historic’ turn of events555 that removed a keystone of Iran’s arc of proxy and allied militias that enabled it to threaten Israel, has shown scepticism towards the insurgents who ousted Assad556 whose ranks included jihadi fighters.557 By early March 2025, Israeli defence minister went as far as referring to the transitional administration as a ‘terrorist regime of radical Islam’.558
Following the fall of the Assad government, Syria witnessed an escalation of Israeli airstrikes that targeted numerous facilities, destroying radar systems, missile sites, and aircraft.559 Simultaneously, Israeli ground forces seized control of the demilitarised buffer zone between the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and Syria560 and conducted ground incursions on southern Syrian territory beyond the buffer zone (mainly in Quneitra,561 but also in Dar’a), seizing villages562 and strategic positions and carrying out efforts to disarm local residents.563 Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to launch air strikes on former SAA sites in southern Syria,564 near Damascus city565 and on the coast.566 While the Israeli government initially emphasised the temporary nature of the seizure of the buffer zone,567 in late January 2025, Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that the Israeli forces would remain in that zone ‘indefinitely’.568 In late February, members of the Israeli government announced that Israel would not allow the transitional administration to establish control over Syria’s south, demanding its full demilitarisation.569
Initially, Israel appeared to avoid targeting HTS,570 but a mid-January 2025 drone strike killed two HTS fighters in Quneitra.571 However, as of early March 2025, ‘no major clashes’ have been reported between Israeli forces and Syria’s new security forces.572
For further information on Israel’s involvement in Syria since November 2024, see section 4.4. of this report.
- 555
AP, Analysis: Collapse of Syria’s Assad is a blow to Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’, 9 December 2024, url
- 556
USIP, What Assad’s Fall Means for Israel and Its Regional Relations, 19 December 2024, url
- 557
AP, Analysis: Collapse of Syria’s Assad is a blow to Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’, 9 December 2024, url
- 558
AP, Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital, 1 March 2025, url
- 559
Badi, E., and Al-Jabassini, A., Turkey’s Syria and Libya strategies add up to a Mediterranean power play, Atlantic Council, 13 January 2025, url
- 560
AP, As Israel advances on a Syrian buffer zone, it sees peril and opportunity, 10 December 2024, url
- 561
Badi, E., and Al-Jabassini, A., Turkey’s Syria and Libya strategies add up to a Mediterranean power play, Atlantic Council, 13 January 2025, url
- 562
AA, Occupying Israeli forces open fire on Syrians protesting seizure of 2 villages in Daraa province, 21 December 2024, url
- 563
International Crisis Group, Promoting a Stable, Peaceful Transition in Syria, 30 January 2025, url, p. 4
- 564
ISW and CTP, Iran Update, February 26, 2025, 26 February 2025, url, pp. 6-7; Guardian (The), Israel strikes targets in southern Syria after demanding demilitarization, 26 February 2025, url
- 565
ISW and CTP, Iran Update, February 26, 2025, 26 February 2025, url, pp. 6-7; Guardian (The), Israel strikes targets in southern Syria after demanding demilitarization, 26 February 2025, url; New York Times (The), Talks on Syria’s Future Fall Short of Promises, Participants Say, 26 February 2025, url
- 566
New York Times (The), Israel Strikes Syria Again as Tensions Rise, 4 March 2025, url; Al Jazeera, Israel launches air attacks near Syria’s Tartous, 3 March 2025, url
- 567
USIP, What Assad’s Fall Means for Israel and Its Regional Relations, 19 December 2024, url
- 568
Security Council Report, Syria: Briefing and Consultations, 11 February 2025, url
- 569
ISW and CTP, Iran Update, February 26, 2025, 26 February 2025, url, p. 6; Al-Monitor, Jordan’s king hosts Sharaa amid Israeli escalation in Syria, 26 February 2025, url
- 570
MEE, Turkey doesn't seek conflict with Israel in Syria. Here's why, 11 January 2025, url
- 571
International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch – Syria: November 2024 – February 2025, n.d., url
- 572
AP, Israel’s military is told to prepare to defend a Druze community outside Syria’s capital, 1 March 2025, url