The Syrian war has seen no shortage of twists already this year, but this weekend, it saw one of its most consequential. On Saturday, Israel’s military announced that it had carried out a “large-scale” aerial attack inside Syria, after back-and-forth clashes overnight in which an Iranian drone was shot down in Syrian territory and an Israeli F-16 was downed by Syrian antiaircraft fire.
Despite its proximity, Israel has largely stood on the sidelines of the Syrian conflict over the past seven years. Saturday’s airstrikes, however, suggest that it may soon end up sucked into a conflict that is looking increasingly chaotic after the military defeat of the Islamic State. If Israel does become more engaged in the fighting next door, it could have serious consequences for the war in Syria – and for the region as a whole.
Read the article by Adam Taylor (The Washington Post) in The Sydney Morning Herald.