Syria

Israel ramps up deterrence on Syrian border

IAF fighter planes have been called in several times recently to chase off Syrian regime representatives who neared the Druze-controlled areas in southern Syria.

'We're here to protect'

The Defense Minister's message to the new regime in Syria

Defense Minister Israel Katz visits buffer zone on Hermon summit, vows Israel will 'ensure that the entire security area in southern Syria is demilitarized and free of weapons and threats, and also protect the safety of the Druze in the area.'

Dep. Foreign Min:

'Syria's new leaders were ISIS and they remain jihadists'

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sharren Haskel addressed pressing regional issues in a statement to the press, including crisis in Syria, Israel's security operations, and diplomatic developments.

Ritchie Torres:

'Where are protesters on Syria massacre? No Jews, No News'

New York Congressman questions the silence of those who spent a year and a half protesting Israel after over 1,000 people, mostly civilians, were massacred in Alawite areas in Syria.

Syria’s dangerous Taqiya: Why Israel must act now

While the world focuses on the sectarian violence between different religious groups, the real danger lies within the jihadist factions embedded in Syria’s government who are creating a much more dangerous future for Israel and the region. Opinion.

To eliminate future threats

IAF strikes targets belonging to the Syrian Regime

IAF fighter jets strike radars and detection assets, as well as command positions and military sites belonging to the Syrian Regime in southern Syria.

Dramatic agreement in Syria

Kurdish institutions to be incorporated in new government

Syria’s interim government announces an agreement with the leadership of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to incorporate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.

Syria clashes:

Bomb explodes in Damascus as tensions continue to rise

According to Arab media, the bomb attack targeted a General Security patrol in the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus. It is unclear if the explosion caused any casualties.

Syria launches probe of alleged massacre of Alawite civilians

Syria’s interim government announces an investigation after the killing of Alawite civilians in clashes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.

Watch:

IDF Chief of Staff tours Syrian buffer zone

IDF Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir visited and conducted a situational assessment in the buffer zone in Syria together with commanders.

Defense Minister Katz:

We will soon allow Druze laborers to work in Israel

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the cabinet approved an aid program for Druze and Circassians in Israel and added that Druze from Syria will soon be able to come to work in the Golan Heights.

IDF confiscates weapons in southern Syria

Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps, and Yahalom Unit conduct targeted raids based on intelligence indications in Syria.

Syria:

Dozens dead in clashes between regime forces and Assad loyalists

Clashes in Latakia result in the deaths of at least 28 fighters loyal to ousted President Bashar Al-Assad, along with 16 security personnel and four civilians.

Asks for int'l support

Syria pledges to eliminate chemical weapons

Syria’s Foreign Minister says the country is committed to eliminating any remaining chemical weapons following the fall of the Assad regime, appeals to the international community for assistance in this effort.

Syrian President demands immediate Israeli withdrawal from south

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa urges international community to pressure Israel into an "immediate" withdrawal from the south of the country.

IDF confirms strike on Assad regime weapons

IAF strikes weapons storage site near Tartus, 'due to recent developments in the area.'

Syria forms committee to draft constitutional declaration

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announces establishment of a committee tasked with drafting a constitutional declaration to guide the country’s transition.

US eliminates top leader of Al-Qaeda branch in Syria

US military announces it eliminated a senior military leader of Hurras al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

Unusual directive:

Netanyahu and Katz order IDF to protect Druze village in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, instruct IDF to prepare to protect Druze village of Jaramana, near Damascus in Syria.

Brooklyn:

Man arrested for funding ISIS operations in Syria and Turkey

Tajik national residing in Brooklyn arrested on charges of conspiring to support the Islamic State (ISIS) by transferring tens of thousands of dollars to ISIS supporters in Turkey and Syria.

First time in decades:

How a small delegation of US Jews got to Syria

'Everyone was so excited, the people are so kind and really, very, very nice,' Jewish delegate to Syria Rabbi Asher Lopatin says.

Extensive strikes

IDF attacks targets in southern Syria

IDF strikes military targets in southern Syria including command centers and multiple sites containing weapons. Defense Minister Katz: We will not allow southern Syria to turn into southern Lebanon.

Europe rolls back sanctions on Syria amid leadership change

European Union rolls back energy, transport, and banking sanctions against Syria, provided its new leadership remains committed to peace.

Watch:

The IDF's nighttime raid in Syria

During one of the recent raids, paratroopers located rifles, ammunition, and other military equipment left behind by the fleeing Syrian regime.

Syria’s President invited to Arab League summit

Syria's newly appointed President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, invited to attend emergency Arab League summit in Cairo on March 4, a significant step in rebuilding Syria's relations with the Arab world following the fall of Assad.

On Syria-Lebanon border

IAF strikes crossing points used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons

IAF strikes crossing points in the area of the Lebanon-Syria border used by Hezbollah in attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanese territory: A blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.

Syrian Jews return to Damascus for 1st time in 30 years

30 years after they left the country, Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son Henry visited Damascus and read from a Torah scroll inside a synagogue.

IAF strikes three tanks belonging to Assad's army in Syria

IAF strikes three Syrian tanks belonging to the old Syrian regime which contained weapons and constituted a security threat.

Strike in Syria:

US army eliminates senior member of Al-Qaeda offshoot

CENTCOM announces that its forces eliminated a terrorist from the Hurras al-Din organization, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

The chemical weapons danger:

Does the New Syria pose risks to the region?

The possibility of seizing control of chemical weapons depots by numerous jihadist militias in Syria and growing threats for Israel on the backdrop of the ongoing security chaos in the country after sudden Assad’s regime collapse. Opinion.

Post-Assad:

Syria's new government to take power March 1

Syria's Foreign Minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, announces that a new government will take over next month which "will represent the Syrian people as much as possible and take its diversity into account."

IDF strikes underground tunnel crossing from Syria into Lebanon

The terror tunnel was used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons in the Beqqa area and has been struck in the past.

IDF destroys Hamas weapons storehouse in Syria

'Palestinian terrorist organizations, headed by Hamas, act to exploit Syrian soil for their terrorist activities under the direction of Iran,' IDF stresses.

Message from the troops:

'Shabbat Shalom from frozen Syria!'

Soldiers from Battalion 8551 operating on Mount Hermon at the Syrian border sent a video from the snow-covered mountain.

Report:

Pentagon preparing plan to withdraw US forces from Syria

Responding to claims that US troops are planning to withdraw from Syria, President Donald Trump says, 'Syria is its own mess; with enough messes over there, they don’t need us involved in everyone.'

Syria:

Transitional president sets 4-5 year timeline for elections

Syria's transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, estimates it would take between four and five years to organize presidential elections, cites need for vast infrastructure which needs to be re-established.

Israel building outposts in Syria, report says

Satellite imagery shows military bases and a new road in southern Syria, the Washington Post reports.

Assad's cousin who led deadly 2011 crackdown arrested

Syria’s new leadership announces the arrest of Atif Najib, a cousin of ousted President who is accused of leading a deadly 2011 crackdown on rebels in Daraa.

IAF strikes multiple Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon

IAF confirms reports in Lebanon that it struck Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Beqaa Valley that posed a threat to the Israeli Home Front and IDF troops.

In strike in Syria:

US eliminates senior terrorist from Al-Qaeda offshoot

CENTCOM announces that its forces conducted a precision strike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir, a senior operative in the Hurras al-Din terrorist organization.

Ahmed al-Sharaa named Syria's interim president

Syria's new leadership announces that Ahmed al-Sharaa, who became the country's de facto leader after his rebel group ousted Bashar Al-Assad, has been appointed interim president.

First time in two decades

PA cabinet leader visits Syria, meets Al-Sharaa

PA cabinet leader Mohammad Mustafa meets Ahmed Al-Sharaa during a visit to Damascus, the first by a high-level PA delegation to Syria in nearly two decades.

Defense Minister:

'IDF will remain on Hermon peak indefinitely'

Minister Israel Katz inspects IDF positions on Hermon peak, says Israel will not return to the reality of October 7 and will not be dependent on others for its defense.

Syria's new government intercepts weapons intended for Hezbollah

Border authority of Syria's new government says it intercepted weapons intended for smuggling to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A century of chaos in Syria

From the Sykes-Picot Agreement to Abu Mohamed al-Julani’s Lightning Revolution. Op-ed.

IDF Chief of Staff in Syria:

'We need to make every effort to bring back Hadar Goldin'

While visiting troops in Syria, IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi discussed the recovery of the body of Oron Shaul, which had been held by Hamas since 2014.

UN official:

Nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned since Assad's fall

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi says that, between December 8 and January 16, approximately 195,200 Syrians made their way back home.

Erdogan threatens:

If Israel doesn't withdraw from Syria, impact to affect everyone

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds party meeting, discussing progress on Gaza ceasefire deal and the situation in Syria.

Tanks, intelligence documents, and weapons seized in Syria

Over 3,300 weapons confiscated from Syrian territory so far, IDF spokesperson confirms.

Elderly Jewish woman in Damascus passes away

Hadaya Shatakh, one of the last members of the ancient Jewish community in Damascus, passes away at 92, leaving no children.

Syria foils ISIS attack on Shiite shrine near Damascus

Syria's new government says it successfully foiled a plan by ISIS to detonate a bomb at a Shiite shrine in Sayyida Zeinab, a suburb of Damascus. Members of the cell arrested.

APC and numerous weapons located in Syrian outpost

IDF locates, destroys, weapons and infrastructure belonging to the Syrian military. Watch.

Report:

Israel considering dividing Syria into provinces

One of the plans for guaranteeing the security of each ethnic group in Syria involves dividing the country into smaller, self-governing provinces.

Top Iranian general admits:

‘Iran was defeated very badly in Syria’

Iran’s top general in Syria, Behrouz Esbati, admits Iran suffered a significant defeat in Syria but stresses it would continue its efforts in the region.

US Army targets ISIS in Iraq and Syria

CENTCOM says it and its partner forces conducted operations in Iraq and Syria, from December 30 to January 6, targeting known ISIS locations. One Coalition member was killed but no US personnel were harmed.

US eases some sanctions on Syria

US issues six-month general license allowing specific transactions with the Syrian government, including certain energy sales and related activities, to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to the country.

IDF chief opens up about the fall of Assad's army

Northern Command chief Ori Gordin speaks about the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, says officers in Assad's military 'simply took off their uniforms and disappeared.'

Red Cross President:

'Identifying the missing in Syria could take years'

President of International Committee for the Red Cross says that uncovering the fate of those who went missing during Syria's civil war will be a monumental undertaking that could span several years.

'Protect remaining Jews'

The unordinary letter from the rabbi to Syria's new leader

Rabbi Binyamin Hamra, the spiritual leader of the Syrian community in Israel, sent a letter to Ahmad al-Sharaa asking him to protect the country's remaining Jews and Jewish holy sites.

IDF destroys weapons caches in the Syrian Hermon

The 810th Mountain Brigade executed targeted raids on strategic locations to bolster the defense of Israeli citizens, particularly those in the Golan Heights.