Israel Targets Syria and Lebanon in Wave of Airstrikes NY Times, Jul 15, 2025
A wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces in Syria and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon on Tuesday, escalating what Israel said were efforts to secure its northern border.
The strikes in Syria were a rare attack on forces of the new government, which is led by Islamist former rebels who toppled the dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria and deployed forces across a demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.
But it has seldom attacked the government’s military and the two countries recently opened diplomatic contacts to try to lower tensions and conflict between them. The Syrian government condemned the Israeli attack and said it was aimed at undermining the country’s stability. It said a number of its forces had been killed as had civilians. [...]
In neighboring Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes hit the eastern Bekaa Valley, a bastion of support for Hezbollah. The attack killed 12 people, most of them Syrians, who often work in agricultural in the area, said the regional governor, Bachir Khodr.
It was the deadliest Israeli strike on Lebanon since a cease-fire was reached in November — ending the most destructive war in Lebanon in decades. [...].
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the attacks were “a clear message” to both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government that Israel would respond with “maximum force” to any attempt by the group to restore its military capabilities.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/world/middleeast/airstrikes-israel-syria-lebanon.html
