At dawn on February 7, the Syrian authorities revealed an important piece of information through Al Watan: the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an intensive air campaign against pro-Iranian forces in central Syria in the middle of the night.
Despite the fact that Syrian air defense forces managed to intercept and shoot down a number of incoming missiles, some of them broke through the line of defense and hit key targets in the city of Homs and its environs, causing serious damage and fire, according to the Russian TASS news agency.
The latest developments show that the Syrian Ministry of Defense has officially confirmed the Israeli attack on Homs. The Syrian side said that at about 12:30 a.m., Israel launched the air attack from the direction north of Tripoli, aimed at several locations in the city of Homs, and the attack caused personnel ** and damage to local public facilities and personal property.
In other words, in the dead of night, Israel launched a fierce cross-border strike aimed at the pro-Iranian military presence in Syria. Despite the efforts of the Syrian air defense system to fight back, they were unable to completely stop the enemy fire, and eventually the city of Homs and the adjacent area suffered actual blows and effects, further increasing tensions in the region.
One of the most noteworthy recent events is that shortly before Israel bombed targets in Syria, the U.S. military launched a massive airstrike campaign against Iranian forces and their allied armed groups in Syria and Iraq.
The ferocious attack fired a total of 125 missiles, destroyed 84 targets and killed at least 18 people, dealing a heavy blow to Iran's influence in Syria.
Regarding the latest Israeli air strikes, Syrian officials have not yet released specific figures. According to a report by Radio Sam FM on February 7, in the city of Homs, a residential building collapsed in the attack, and several surrounding residences were also damaged to varying degrees, and at least five civilians were injured.
Meanwhile, Sky News reported that more than nine ** occurred in and around the city of Homs as multiple Israeli missiles landed at the Homs refinery, Gusayre and around Olas Farm, a suburb of Homs that houses the Syrian army and the pro-Iranian militant Allah military base.
Another person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Israeli airstrikes targeted a number of Syrian army posts and the Sheilat airbase in the Homs area.
In other words, the Israeli airstrikes not only directly hit Syrian installations, but also triggered a cascade of effects that affected military positions with close ties to Iran, further demonstrating Israel's hardline attitude towards the strategic posture in the region.
Since the outbreak of the new conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli Air Force has launched an intensive strike operation against Iranian-related facilities in Syria.
Recently, in this wave of conflict, Israeli military fire covered the area of the Syrian capital Damascus and Aleppo airports, causing the airports to be paralyzed for a time. Since the beginning of 2024, Israel has carried out nine heavy attacks against Syria, including six volley bombardments and three ground raids, destroying a total of about 26 key targets, including warehouses, command centers and vehicles, killing at least 24 Syrian soldiers and wounding seven others.
As an important ally of the United States, Israel's military operations in Syria have formed a synergistic effect with the US military. Both countries regard Iran as a thorn in their side and frequently launch attacks on its strongholds in Syria.
On February 2, U.S. warplanes launched a series of air strikes on Syria's Deir ez-Zor region, targeting 26 key nodes of pro-Iranian militias, killing a total of 18 militiamen.
Israel and the United States have joined forces in Syria to launch a strategic repression of Iranian support forces, frequently and precisely weakening Iran's influence in the region, and repeatedly crippling the military presence of Iran and its allies in Syria through multiple high-intensity joint or independent military operations.
The tough measures taken by the United States and Israel together against Iran have put real pressure on the Iranian side, and dozens of Iranian-backed militants have been killed in the conflict.
In the face of the continuous military actions of the United States and Israel, although Iran has not shown weakness in words and frequently issued fierce verbal warnings, its counterattacks in actual actions have been relatively limited. At present, Iran is more likely to choose forbearance and strategic restraint, and there is no way for the outside world to know when substantive countermeasures will break out.
Imagine that if Iran decides to retaliate against Israel, the already tense nerves in the Middle East will undoubtedly become even more tense, and the situation could quickly deteriorate and escalate.
February** Dynamic Incentive Plan Such a potential retaliatory move would not only worsen the regional security situation, but could also trigger a chain reaction that would exacerbate the international community's concerns about peace and stability in the Middle East.