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Background: Since 1974, Syria has remained an active enemy of the state of Israel, but one that can be predictably deterred from taking broad conventional action. This realization allowed Israel to maintain a semblance of stability along the countries’ shared border, but with the advent of the Syrian civil war, this began to change.
- The initial developments of the Syrian civil war prompted Israel to seek a policy of limited intervention. With its longtime adversary in the Syrian government–backed by Iran and Hezbollah–on one side, and the rising dominance of jihadist militant groups present in the opposition, Israel did not have a faction to support.
- Instead, it focused on securing its border along the Golan Heights to keep the Syrian conflict spilling over, a campaign that included active efforts to disrupt Hezbollah and Iranian entrenchment. In January 2015, Israel launched airstrikes against a convoy of Hezbollah militants and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers – the paramilitary protectors of the 1979 Iranian revolution – who were travelling through the eastern Golan Heights. The strike reportedly killed an Iranian general who was part of the IRGC’s expeditionary Quds Force.
- Aside from acting to protect its northern border, Israel also seeks to prevent Iran from gaining a strategic position in Syria via Hezbollah, as it has in southern Lebanon following its 2006 war with the Shia militant group. These efforts largely took the form of airstrikes in Syria against convoys and storage facilities of advanced weapons destined for Hezbollah’s Lebanon stronghold.
- The intent of these selective measures is to inhibit Hezbollah from building its capacity to inflict damage deep within Israel and maintain the conventional military imbalance between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. An example is the potential proliferation of the Iran-manufactured, GPS-guided Raad missiles to Hezbollah, reported by Israeli media, which would significantly improve the group’s ability to attack strategic targets in Israel, a concern expressed to Israeli media by anonymous sources.