Syria

The Syrian civil war between President Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces, including ISIS, has been ongoing since 2011. Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia are all on the ground in Syria fighting to support the Syrian regime against ISIS and many other rebels. This confluence of several different enemies, some religious radicals and others secular, has produced a muddy conflict with no good possible outcomes. Israel, on Syria’s southern border, has stayed out of the war except for occasional targeted strikes when Israel’s security was threatened, and humanely treating those wounded in the conflict. On February 10, 2018, Iranian forces stationed in Syria invaded Israel’s air space with a drone, provoking Israel to respond by shooting the UAV out of the sky and attacking the vehicle on the ground in Syria operating the drone. During the course of Israel’s counterattack, Syrian anti-aircraft missiles shot down an Israeli F-16 and injured two pilots. The IDF responded by destroying 4 Syrian command posts and 8 Iranian command posts in Syria. This incident showed that Iran and its allies in Syria are spoiling for a fight with Israel.

Syria

Report: Syria Strike Kills 5 Iran-Backed Militants

An air strike in eastern Syria on Sunday killed five non-Syrian fighters backed by Iran, a Britain-based war monitor said.

The strike targeted three military vehicles belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary fighters near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said that “Israel was likely responsible” for the…

Syria

Report: Russia Building New Military Base in Northeast Syria

Russia is building a new military base in the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria, a UK-based monitoring group reported today.
Russian forces are making the base in Qeser Dib, a village outside of al-Malikiyah near the Turkish border. The troops installed radar and brought 12 armored vehicles to the area, according to the Syrian Observatory for…

Syria

Operation Good Neighbor: Syrian Thanks Israel for Saving her Life

A viral story is drawing attention to Israel’s heroic efforts that saved thousands of Syrian refugees.

Noam Shalev, an Israeli film producer, was recently vacationing in Sweden. While eating in a restaurant in Stockholm, he was served dinner by a young Arab waitress. When it was time to pay his bill, Shalev handed over his Israeli credit card –…

Syria

Putin meets with Syria’s Assad with the Middle East on edge

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks Tuesday in Syria with the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin spokesman said, with the region nervously awaiting the next possible step in the U.S.-Iran showdown.

Putin’s trip — which was not announced in advance — marked his first visit since 2017 to Syria, Moscow’s main Middle East…

Syria

Russian fighter jets hindered Israel from striking military base in Syria: report

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria but generally refrains from commenting on them

Russian fighter jets hindered Israel’s air force from conducting strikes on a military base in Syria, a Russian outlet reported Monday.

According to the report, Israeli planes seeking to attack the Syrian Air Force T-4 base located in the Homs…

Syria

Foreign minister blames Iran for rocket fire from Syria

Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday accused Iran of being behind the morning’s rocket fire from Syria toward northern Israel, claiming that Jerusalem’s years-long campaign against Tehran’s entrenchment in Syria was working.

Israel’s anti-missile defense system intercepted four rockets fired early Tuesday from neighboring Syria toward the…

Syria

Trump confirms elimination of ISIS leader in Syria by US forces

(October 28, 2019 / JNS) U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Sunday, saying he had “died like a dog.”

During a nationally televised address from the White House, Trump noted that U.S. forces had contacted Moscow for approval to fly over Russian-controlled areas to execute the raid in…

Syria

Trump declares ‘permanent’ ceasefire in Syria, lifting US sanctions on Turkey

(October 23, 2019 / JNS) U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that a “permanent” ceasefire in Syria has been reached, and that all U.S. sanctions enacted against Turkey will be lifted.

“I have, therefore, instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to lift all sanctions imposed October 14th in response to Turkey’s original offensive…

Syria

Turkey agrees with US to pause Syria assault while Kurds withdraw

Turkey agreed on Thursday to pause its offensive in Syria for five days to let Kurdish forces withdraw from a “safe zone” Ankara had sought to capture, in a deal hailed by Washington but which Turkish leaders cast as a complete victory.

The truce was announced by US Vice President Mike Pence after talks in Ankara with Turkey’s President Tayyip…

Syria

Turkey agrees to temporary ceasefire in Syria

(October 17, 2019 / JNS) Turkey agreed on Thursday to a temporary ceasefire in northern Syria, where it has moved its forces in against the Kurds, who are still reeling from what they say is a betrayal by the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew military forces last week from the area.

Following a five-hour meeting in…

Syria

Turkey Threatens New Tensions With Russia and Iran in Syria As It Tries to Make a Deal with U.S.

Turkey has defied warnings from Russia, Iran and their local allies in Syria by seeking a deal with the United States and continuing to support insurgents as they clashed with government forces in the restive northwestern province of Idlib.

A demilitarized zone deal struck nearly a year ago by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian…

Syria

Netanyahu appears to confirm Israeli missile fire at Syrian Golan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Thursday that Israel was behind a reported missile attack earlier in the day in the Quneitra region in Syria.

“We’re defending ourselves at all times,” Netanyahu said at a national memorial ceremony for Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a Zionist thinker who is the intellectual forebear to Netanyahu’s…

Syria

IDF on high alert along northern border following Syria strikes

IDF forces deployed along the nation’s northern border were on high alert Thursday following airstrikes in southern Syria overnight Tuesday.

According to the Syrian state news agency’s report, the country’s air-defense systems were activated against “hostile missiles” launched from the Israeli Golan Heights and Israeli aircraft west of Damascus….

Syria

Anti-aircraft missiles fired at Israel’s Hermon, fall inside Syria

Several anti-aircraft missiles were fired toward Mount Hermon from Syria on Thursday, the second such incident in under a week.

“IDF radars identified a number of anti-aircraft missiles fired from Syria,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told The Jerusalem Post, adding that none fell in Israeli territory or posed a threat.

The incident came just days…

Syria

4 children of parents murdered in West Bank sue Syria, Iran in US federal court

The four children of a couple who were killed by a Palestinian Hamas terror cell while driving in the West Bank have filed a $360 million civil damages wrongful death lawsuit against Iran and Syria in federal court in Washington.

Eitam and Naama Henkin were killed on October 1, 2015, when the Palestinian attackers, who originally had intended to…

Syria

Iranian FM heads to Syria, Turkey to discuss regional situation

The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Damascus on Tuesday, according to the Iranian MEHR News Agency.

The visit comes upon an official invitation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a follow up on negotiations between the two countries on bilateral ties, including agreements made between Assad and Iranian President…

Syria

Satellite images show possible Iranian missile factory in Syria destroyed

Satellite images released by the Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) on Sunday showed the complete destruction of a possible Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in Syria’s Masyaf District, allegedly struck by Israel on Saturday.

The main industrial structures were completely destroyed, including the main hangar and the…

Syria

Syria vows to recapture Golan from Israel ‘by all means’

Syria will not shy away from using force to reconquer “every inch” of the Golan Heights, the country’s foreign minister threatened Thursday.

“Syria will liberate the occupied Golan by all means and all choices are on the table,” Walid Muallem said at a press conference in Damascus alongside his Venezuelan counterpart.

“US President Donald…