Israel attacked Syria more than 600 times over the past year

In the past year, Israel averaged astir 2 regular attacks connected Syria and grabbed much onshore successful the occupied Golan Heights.

It has been 1 twelvemonth since a lightning offensive by allied rebel groups led to the autumn of Damascus, ending the al-Assad dynasty’s 54-year reign.

Yet, arsenic the authorities collapsed, Israel seized connected the instability by importantly escalating its subject run successful Syria, targeting overmuch of its neighbour’s subject infrastructure, including large airports, aerial defence systems, combatant jets, and different strategical facilities.

Over the past year, Israel has launched much than 600 air, drone oregon artillery attacks crossed Syria, averaging astir 2 attacks a day, according to a tally by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

The representation beneath shows the ACLED-recorded Israeli attacks betwixt December 8, 2024 and November 28, 2025.

The bulk of the Israeli attacks person been concentrated successful the confederate Syrian governorates of Quneitra, Deraa, and Damascus, which relationship for astir 80 percent of each recorded Israeli attacks.

• Quneitra, adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, was attacked astatine slightest 232 times.
• Deraa was the 2nd astir targeted governorate, with 167 recorded attacks focusing connected erstwhile authorities subject sites and suspected arms convoys.
• Damascus governorate, which hosts cardinal subject highways and logistics hubs, was attacked astatine slightest 77 times. Damascus city, the capital, was attacked astatine slightest 20 times.

Why is Israel attacking Syria?

While Israel’s aerial attacks person escalated this past year, it has been attacking Syria for years, justifying its actions by claiming to destruct Iranian subject installations.

Since the autumn of the al-Assad government, Israel claims it is trying to forestall weapons from landing successful the hands of “extremists” – a word it has applied to a rotating database of actors, astir precocious including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the superior Syrian absorption radical that led the cognition to overthrow al-Assad.

Just 4 days aft the autumn of al-Assad, Israel announced it had achieved full aerial superiority by destroying much than 80 percent of Syria’s aerial defence systems, successful bid to forestall the caller Syrian authorities from posing immoderate subject threat.

Since taking powerfulness pursuing the overthrow of al-Assad, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has consistently stated that his authorities seeks nary struggle with Israel and volition not licence Syria to beryllium utilized by overseas actors to motorboat attacks.

Members of Syria’s Civil Defence amid the aftermath of an Israeli onslaught connected Syria’s Defence Ministry office connected July 16, 2025, successful Damascus, Syria [Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images]

Israel grabs much Syrian land

In the days pursuing the autumn of al-Assad, Israeli troops crossed into the Syrian broadside of the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967, violating the 1974 UN-brokered ceasefire statement with Syria.

The Israeli subject has established respective subject outposts, including astatine Jabal al-Sheikh, successful adjacent villages, and wrong different areas of the United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone, wherever it has carried retired predominant aerial raids and crushed incursions.

(Al Jazeera)

Israel’s penetration of Syrian onshore has drawn wide planetary criticism. The UN, on with respective Arab nations, condemned Israel’s actions arsenic breaches of planetary instrumentality and violations of Syria’s sovereignty.

Despite these condemnations, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said successful February that Israeli forces would stay successful the country indefinitely to “protect Israeli citizens” and “prevent hostile entities from gaining a foothold” adjacent the border.

To visualise the scale, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights spans 1,200sq km (463sq miles), an country astir the size of New York City oregon Greater Manchester. The UN buffer portion covers different 235sq km (91sq miles), comparable to the size of the metropolis of Baltimore. Additionally, Israel has seized an estimated 420sq km (162sq miles) of Syrian onshore beyond the buffer zone, a territory astir the size of Denver.

The slider beneath details the areas Israel has occupied implicit the past year.