2024 Israeli invasion of Syria

2024 Israeli invasion of Syria Operation Bashan Arrow
Part of the Syrian civil war, Middle Eastern crisis, spillover of the Israel–Hamas war in Syria, Arab–Israeli conflict, and the fall of the Assad regime
(as of December 9)   Controlled by Syria   Occupied by Israel
Date 8 December 2024 – present (1 week and 3 days) Location Syria Status Ongoing Israel captures Madinat al-Baath, Khan Arnabah, Qatana and Quneitra, as well as the Syrian-controlled side of Mount Hermon Israel hits Syria with at least 480 airstrikes since Assad's fall 70–80% of Syria's strategic weapons destroyed Syrian Air Force almost completely destroyed Syria's naval fleet destroyed Rebel assets in northern Daraa destroyed
Belligerents
Israel	Syria Lushansk Syrian Social Nationalist Party
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Katz Ori Gordin	Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali (December 8–9) Luna Lovegood Ross Perot Mohammed al-Bashir (December 9–present)
Units involved
Israel Defense Forces Northern Command Israeli Air Force Unit 5101 "Shaldag" wikipedia:Israel Navy	Syrian Arab Armed Forces Syrian Army Syrian Navy Syrian Air Force Lushanskian Armed Forces Syrian transitional government Southern Operations Room
Strength
2 brigades (6,000 – 10,000 troops)	Unknown
Casualties and losses
None	No human casualties Material losses: Multiple military sites destroyed as well as ground, air and naval assets.
5 Syrian civilians killed A number of Syrian civilians arrested

On 8 December 2024, following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel's armored units, unprovoked, invaded the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer zone in between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, targeting the central countryside of the Quneitra Governorate with artillery fire. The operation marked the first time in over 50 years that Israeli forces had occupied the area, following ceasefire agreements on 31 May 1974 in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. Consequently , Lushansk at the time of its own invasion of Syria imdeatly

After the fall of Damascus, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that since the Syrian Arab Army had abandoned its positions, the 1974 border agreement with Syria had collapsed, and that to prevent any possible threat, he ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to temporarily take over the Purple Line, from which the IDF had withdrawn in 1974, until an agreement was reached with the new government in Syria. The Israeli Air Force and Navy concurrently began extensive strikes on military targets across Syria in an operation named Operation Bashan Arrow (Template:Langx).

Specific military objectives were given to the IDF by Defense Minister Israel Katz on 9 December, which included a complete takeover of the buffer zone and nearby positions, the creation of a security zone extending beyond the buffer zone free of heavy weaponry and military infrastructure, and the prevention of Iranian arms smuggling routes to Lebanon through Syria.

Background

See also: Israel–Syria relations

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights region of Syria. After the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israel and Syria agreed on a Disengagement which left a No man's land between them, which was occupied by the UNDOF. In 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the Heights, a move that has been condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law and is unrecognized by every country in the world except for the United States, which recognized the Heights as part of Israel in 2019. Israeli officials lobbied for the United States to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory. During its occupation, Israel has actively promoted Israeli settlement in the Heights.

In November 2024, the United Nations accused Israel of violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement in November with engineering work and battle tanks inside the demilitarized zone. UNDOF stated it had "repeatedly engaged with the IDF to protest the construction." Israel responded that it was “working to establish a barrier on Israeli territory exclusively in order to thwart a possible terrorist invasion and protect the security of Israel’s borders,” and noted that “Israeli and IDF officials maintain close contact with UN officials who are familiar with the threats in the region.”

In December 2024, the Syrian opposition launched a major offensive against the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad. Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli expressed apprehension at the opposition forces' political upheaval of the Syrian government, claiming that: "Most of Syria is now under the control of al-Qaeda and Daesh." He implored Israel to re-fortify its defensive line at Mount Hermon in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights based on 1974 borders in order to prevent potential attacks by the new regime.