The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasing its military activity in Syria and the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has sent summonses to thousands of reservists. This has caused Israeli society to fear that the country is preparing for a new intensive military campaign on two fronts. On Syrian territory, the IDF carried out bombings that almost covered the presidential palace in Damascus. Officially, this was done to protect the Druze, a religious minority living on both sides of the border.
Netanyahu called a meeting of the military-political cabinet on May 4 to discuss further IDF actions in the south (in the Gaza Strip) and in the north (in Syria). This was preceded by an announcement by the Israeli army that it had sent tens of thousands of conscription orders to the population.
As The New York Times noted, the statement on the appeal caused Israeli society to fear that the Netanyahu government was again ready to wage a war on two fronts, as it was in 2024 against the background of large-scale operations that were simultaneously conducted against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Now the Jewish state intends to expand its operation in Gaza, according to local and Western publications. The Times of Israel’s sources emphasize that in this way the Netanyahu government would like to put pressure on Hamas to force the Palestinian group to accept Israeli conditions for the release of the living and dead hostages captured in Gaza during the massacre on October 7, 2023.
“We have not ended the war,– Netanyahu said in a public address on May 4. – We will achieve a complete victory in Gaza, an absolute victory. We will not give up on this for a minute, and we will carry out this operation with our very powerful army.”
However, the Hostage Families Forum, a non–governmental organization that unites relatives of the victims of Black Saturday, believes that military pressure on the radicals, who actually still control Gaza, will only lead to the deaths of the abducted Israelis.
It is noteworthy that Israel is stepping up its activities in another direction, the Syrian one. On the night of May 2, the IDF aircraft launched a massive shelling of the territory of its northern neighbor, affecting, among other things, the area of Damascus where the presidential complex is located. According to Netanyahu’s office, a warning has been issued to the Syrian transitional government that incidents of sectarian violence in the republic, which are the fault of supporters of the current leadership of the country, must be stopped immediately.
Israel is most concerned about the fate of the Druze, a religious minority that lives in a number of Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Israel. Attacks on Druze in Syria began to occur at the end of April, when an audio recording began to circulate on social networks criticizing the Prophet Muhammad, which was attributed to one of the Druze figures. At first, riots began to occur in metropolitan areas where the Druze minority lives densely, and then they spread to the southern provinces of Syria.
In this regard, the IDF reported that it was forced to strengthen its positions in the southern regions of the neighboring country and even independently evacuate to Israel those who suffered as a result of the pogroms. Israeli media, citing sources, report that the authorities of the Jewish state are now considering the possibility of expanding the list of military targets in Syria. It is assumed that the IDF will now target not only local military infrastructure, but also government institutions. The strike near the presidential complex in Damascus was only a test balloon in this direction, the publications claim.
Such activity cannot but unnerve Turkey, the main external donor to Syria, which intends to deploy its military bases there in the near future. According to a number of publications, over the weekend Ankara tried to block the passage of Israeli aircraft in Syrian airspace by creating electronic interference for them. The question remains what other measures Ankara is willing to take to stop the Israeli attacks.
“An atmosphere of peace and tranquility is the last thing Israel wants,– Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters aboard his ship on May 4 after returning from Northern Cyprus. – He is concerned about the end of the civil war that has been going on in Syria for many years, the fact that the Syrian people are determining their own future, as well as the fact that unity and integrity are being formed in the country. For this reason, he is trying to create a new conflict situation by provoking some groups in Syria.” Separately, he expressed confidence that Israel is “setting fire” to the Middle East region because it is “very concerned” about Turkey’s growing influence and “the successes it has achieved.”
Ankara announced yesterday that it would not issue a permit for Netanyahu’s plane, which was supposed to cross Turkish airspace for a visit to Azerbaijan. According to Israeli media reports, this was the main reason why the Israeli prime minister was forced to temporarily cancel his trip to Baku, although it had been under consideration for a long time. The Office also commented vaguely on the cancellation of the visit.: “Due to the development of the situation in Gaza and Syria, as well as due to the intense security and diplomatic agenda, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone his visit to Azerbaijan.”
It was expected that Baku’s mediation could mitigate the contradictions between the Israeli and Turkish authorities over the Syrian dossier. In any case, the Azerbaijani side managed to host negotiations between the two regional rivals last month, which were devoted to the creation of a special communication line designed to reduce friction over Syria. Netanyahu’s refusal to travel is probably a signal from the head of government that the Jewish state does not intend to de-escalate with Turkey yet.