New strikes in Syria: the two-pronged message from the Israeli authorities

Syrian air defense rockets in the skies over Damascus, April 4, 2023. AFP - STRINGER

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2 min

Two civilians were killed in an Israeli strike in Syria on April 4. This is the fourth time in less than a week that the Israeli army has bombed the Damascus region. Usually very discreet following this kind of operation, Israeli officials have admitted their involvement in these attacks. It is the Iranian militias and the Lebanese Hezbollah, allies of the Syrian regime, who are targeted by these Israeli strikes. This public stance hides a double issue.

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From our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa

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We have intervened beyond our borders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week. "We will drive Iran and Hezbollah out of Syria," added his defense minister. The traditional: Israeli "no comment", when it comes to intervention abroad, now gives way to public statements, assumed. What has changed? "The nature of the Iranian threat," says Yaakov Amidror, a retired general and researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. "Iran and Hezbollah's operations against Israel are now bolder. A few days ago, Hezbollah managed to infiltrate deep into Israeli territory. They managed to plant a bomb more than 100 km from the border. 24 hours ago, Iran probably sent a drone from Syria to Israel. Here, we think that the Iranians and Hezbollah, perhaps mistakenly understood, that it was time to attack Israel. Because the country is in the midst of a crisis, it is shaken by a major protest movement, and it is therefore weakened," says Yaakov Amidror.

Through their actions and statements, Israeli officials are sending a double message: first to their enemies abroad. Secondly, to their people, currently divided by a question of domestic politics. After weeks of popular protest against the government in Israel, the defense minister declares: "In the face of our enemies, we must remain united."

This will not calm the street, Yaakov Amidror explains: "Israelis are quite intelligent. They are not going to give up their right to protest because of such an event. People will continue to protest against the government, and at the same time the army will do its job."

But Israeli officials are worried. In protest against the government, many reservists and combat pilots are currently refusing to join the army.

► READ ALSO: Iranian Revolutionary Guards killed in Israeli raids in Syria

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Read on on the same topics:

• Israel
• Syria
• Lebanon
• Defense
• Hezbollah
• Benjamin Netanyahu