Israel escalates strikes and ground raids across Syria

TEHRAN — Israel has intensified its assault on Syrian sovereignty, unleashing a coordinated campaign of drone strikes, artillery barrages, and ground invasions.

Exploiting the chaos under the Ahmed “al-Jolani” al-Sharra government, Tel Aviv aggressively expands its footprint beyond the occupied Golan Heights.

On Saturday, an Israeli drone bombed a civilian vehicle in Beit Jinn, located in the western Damascus countryside. Local media outlets said the attack wounded at least one citizen.

The strike fits into a pattern of Israeli operations targeting southern Syria.

Further south, the occupation regime’s infantry units systematically violate Syrian borders. Israeli convoys stormed the village of al-Basali in Quneitra, ransacking homes.

This violation followed an intense artillery bombardment on agricultural lands south of Jubata al-Khashab. Occupation troops launched flares that deliberately incinerated civilian farmlands. Days prior, a heavy Israeli raiding party entered Jubata al-Khashab itself, abducting two residents and terrorizing the local population.

The aggression stretches into northern Syria, exposing reckless decision-making within Israel. Israeli warplanes recently executed multiple successive strikes on the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Idlib province, damaging runways and hangars. Tel Aviv attempted to justify the assault by claiming Turkish troops were fortifying the facility.

Washington dismantled this justification. United States Ambassador Tom Barrack admitted the strike relied on false intelligence. In an interview with podcaster Mario Nawfal on Friday, Barrack confirmed American agencies investigated the Israeli claims and found them baseless.

The envoy suggested the unannounced bombing campaign resulted from internal disarray between the Mossad, the military, and Netanyahu’s office.

Despite mounting devastation, the ruling government under Ahmed “al-Jolani” al-Sharra refuses to mount any resistance. Instead, he pursues a security pact with Tel Aviv.

This appeasement has yielded further encroachment. Since discarding the 1974 disengagement agreement in late 2024, Netanyahu has formally instructed his forces to seize strategic Syrian territory.

Israel views Damascus’s diplomatic overtures as an invitation for subjugation.

The United Nations and several governments have labeled the operations violations of Syrian sovereignty and international law.

Barrack himself noted that the continued occupation of the Golan stands is in breach of United Nations resolutions. However, mild American criticism of one Israeli strike has not slowed the advance.