Alwaght- A years ago, the Israeli regime, seizing the opportunity given by the power vacuum and political and security instability in the US, launched large-scale attacks on the Syria's south, hoping to expand occupied territories. But now it is facing serious challenges in its expansionist policy.
In the latest development, a number of Israeli military forces earlier on Friday raided Beit Jinn town in Damascus outskirts in a push to control it, but faced powerful resistance from young Syrians. Hebrew media outlets reported that six Israeli soldiers were wounded, three critically, during a firefight with Syrians. In response, the Israeli regime was compelled to call in its air force, which bombarded the area, killing and wounding a number of local residents.
According to the Hebrew media reports, the Israeli military’s stated objective for the operation was to detain individuals from the “Islamic Congregation.”
Despite the Israeli army’s claims of having responded with resolve and arresting several Syrian militants, circulated footage tells a different story. The videos appear to show Israeli troops retreating under fire from Syrian fighters, abandoning their military vehicles. The air force subsequently bombed the abandoned equipment to prevent it from falling into Syrian hands. Furthermore, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the air force could not provide close air support to the stranded soldiers near the town of Beit Jin due to their proximity to civilians.
These clashes come as the Israeli military has recently escalated its operations in southern Syrian provinces. This aggressive posture follows a recent visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, a move interpreted as signaling an intent to solidify Israel’s occupation and potentially pursue long-term territorial expansion and increased influence in the region.
It is noteworthy that recently, the Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz in comments said that he ruled out a way to peace with Syria. On Wednesday, Katz in a Knesset session told the Security and Foreign Affairs Committee that Syria demands Israel to forsake the Golan Heights and thus is impossible.
Following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government, the Israeli air force launched a comprehensive assault, destroying 85 percent of Syria's air defense capabilities in a strike on its airports and military bases. It has since continued these attacks across the country, from Deir ez-Zor to Homs, and from Aleppo to Daraa.
Simultaneously, using the pretext of protecting Druze communities during internal conflicts in southern Syria, the Israeli military intervened. Its objective was to establish an Israeli-controlled corridor stretching from the Golan Heights to the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda.
Now the Israelis have practically divided southern Syria into two regions. First region is a security belt along the border 5-7 kilometers deep and off limits to armed groups. The second region is a civilian area from Damascus to Daraa, inaccessible to the heavy trucks of the Syrian army.
A reaction to inaction of al-Jolani’s government
The recent developments in southern Syria give a clearer picture of the gap between the people and the governing structures. The people of these regions who are everyday grappling with threats and massive violence, feel that no institution is ready to truly protect them.
Al-Jolani’s regime sold itself to the Syrian people with the claim of protecting the Syrian territorial integrity, but its clear weakness in the face of the Israeli crimes has seriously eroded the popular trust in the interim government.
The full extent of the al-Jolani regime's deference and the contemptuous view held by Israeli negotiators became starkly apparent during their so-called security talks. Reports indicate that Israeli officials demanded that al-Jolani formally accept the full annexation of Syrian territories.
According to analysts familiar with the negotiations, the Israeli side presented al-Jolani’s government with two stark options: either agree to a comprehensive peace deal that would require Damascus to renounce its claim to the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967, or accept a phased understanding allowing Israel to maintain control over ten strategic outposts deep inside Syrian territory.
Consequently, many citizens, losing faith in the formerly terrorist rulers, have decided to take matters into their own hands. This trend is not just a practical reaction but a natural response to the absence of support from a central government. When people feel their lives and property are under threat with no official institution to protect them, it is inevitable that they assume responsibility themselves.
This situation highlights a profound crisis of trust between the governing authority and the society. The chasm between promises and reality has compelled people to take a more active role in managing their own security and daily affairs. In this light, these local initiatives represent not only an immediate necessity but also a clear indictment of the failure of both local and central government structures to provide security and welfare for the people.
Security and intelligence consequences to Tel Aviv
The recent attack on Israeli forces near Damascus carries profound implications that go beyond its immediate tactical outcome. The incident revealed that areas once considered secure and under full surveillance are, in fact, vulnerable. A non-state actor, leveraging asymmetric tactics and without advanced weaponry, successfully forced a retreat of seasoned Israeli troops.
This assault signals that Tel Aviv’s security threats are no longer confined to the borders with Lebanon and Gaza. A new, flexible type of local armed group is emerging in the vicinity of Damascus, capable of posing a persistent, diffuse threat. Unlike formal military structures, these Syrian resistance cells are fluid and anonymous networks, making them significantly harder for intelligence agencies to identify, infiltrate, and track. Their deep knowledge of the local areas, population centers, and backroads effectively neutralizes the conventional military advantages of the Israeli army.
From an intelligence perspective, the operation puts intense pressure on Israel’s surveillance and early-warning systems. The fact that it was an operational surprise points to critical gaps in intelligence analysis and monitoring. These gaps are proving increasingly costly for Tel Aviv in territories beyond its immediate borders. Such agile groups can challenge early-warning systems and create fractures in the decision-making chain through limited, yet precisely calculated, attacks.
The event paints a clear picture of the complex security landscape Israel now faces in Syria. Threats have become decentralized, unpredictable, and multi-fronted, compelling the Israeli military to reconsider its strategy, enhance its on-the-ground intelligence, and prepare for rapid response scenarios.
A crucial takeaway is the miscalculation by Israeli leaders who assumed the resistance in Syria was eradicated with the fall of the state. The recent action by Syrian fighters demonstrates that a new generation of opposition is coalescing against the occupation. These emerging groups have the potential to open a new front, proving that the determination of the Syrian people to defend their land and identity remains unbroken.
At social and psychological levels, these groups have a decisive role. Each action of them bolsters public trust and increases the psychological costs of the Israeli regime. When the local communities trust in the resistance, the Israeli army practically forsakes its reliance on the local intelligence and field operatives. A complex of these factors shows that the Syrian youths are capable of fighting against the Israeli expansionist policies even without support from the regular army and make Syria one of the most complicated areas of confrontation for Tel Aviv.
Promises of the leader of Axis of Resistance are coming true
As terrorist groups took the power in Damascus, the Israeli-Western camp believed they could proceed with their previously stalled agendas unimpeded. However, leaders of the Axis of Resistance foresaw a different political and security future for Syria, one they believed would be shaped by the will of its people.
Amid this conflict, Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei asserted that the continued presence of foreign occupying forces in Syria was unsustainable. He stated, “Syria belongs to the Syrian people, and those who have encroached upon its soil will undoubtedly be forced to retreat in the face of the strength of its courageous youth.”
Today, this prediction is materializing. A nascent movement of national resistance is taking root in Syria, challenging the occupiers and making any further territorial expansion both difficult and costly. Syrians have come to understand that any complacency in the face of the enemy exposes them to the same daily atrocities witnessed by the Palestinians. This collective awareness has driven local communities to personally assume the responsibility of defending their land and identity, playing a decisive role in the protection of their country.
Since suppressive approach of al-Jolani’s regime to the Syrian people has drawn fury among the people, this praiseworthy action of the Syrian youths makes a clear warning to the interim government that if it blocks the way of people who defend their territory and sovereignty, the powerful will of the people will sink it. Analysts believe that this will weaken al-Jolani’s legitimacy as the public distrust is growing and public resistance networks gradually give birth to a effective and decisive force in the Syrian security scene.
