Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Syria late on May 2, causing massive damage to the recently installed Turkish-backed regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa, with Tel Aviv goading the new leadership into direct conflict with the neighbouring Jewish state, local media reported.

The targets of the late-night attacks were: Harasta and al-Tal outside Damascus; Muthbin and Izraa in Daraa; Shatha in northern Hama; Jabal al-Sharaa in Latakia; and Rudal in Quneitra, as per media reports from Syria, according to state news agency Sana.

Israel said it was striking the new regime as Islamists continue to target the minority Druze religious community, which lives along the border area with Israel and inside the Jewish state. The IDF said that five Syrian citizens from the Druze community were evacuated to receive medical treatment inside Israel, further stoking fears of a growing direct threat to the al-Sharaa leadership. Reports also suggested two Assad-era generals were also airlifted across the border to Israel, but this was not confirmed by either the Syrians or Israelis. Israeli social media also said some 16 people had been removed from Syria in recent days, something the IDF have been increasingly doing in recent weeks. 

The IDF added, “It is deployed in southern Syria and is prepared to prevent the entry of hostile forces into the area of Druze villages.” It added that the IDF continues to monitor developments with readiness for defence and various scenarios.

“Israel is absolutely desperate to destabilise Syria,” Charles Lister, the director of MEI Syria at the Middle East Institute, said in a social media post on May 2. “First it fuels crises and threats through proxies and then doubles down with direct escalation of its own, once the crises are resolved in local agreements.”

Following the Israeli airstrikes, Turkey responded by sending F-16 fighters over the border into Syrian territory, warning Israel to desist in its attacks. Ankara is keen to prevent instability in Syria, which it has invested heavily in since the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024. 

The situation in Syria has been deteriorating since Israeli forces carried out attacks on Syrian forces last week, nominally to support the Druze ethnic minorities.

“Israel’s military actions are centred around ‘protecting’ Syria’s Druze, but in truth, it’s about protecting a Druze minority wing that refuses to deal with Damascus and seeks to break the deal in place with the majority,” says Lister.

“It’s messy, complex and imperfect, but the deal agreed overnight promises a path towards stability in Suwayda, with locals manning both the Interior and Defence Ministry units in their area,” Lister added.

The Interior Ministry in Damascus has fast-tracked the approval of 700 Rijal al-Karama and Liwa al-Jabal Druze militiamen to join the Public Security service in Suwayda city and on the borders as of May 2, with another 1,300 men being processed to join the force.

On May 1, leaders of the Druze majority struck a deal with the Syrian authorities to reduce tensions and improve the protection of their rights. The Syrian authorities met with Druze leaders and reached an accommodation that will create representation for the minority in government and safeguard their interests.

However, not everyone is satisfied with the deal. Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri and the Israel-linked Suwayda Military Council oppose it and seek to overthrow the new government. The influential leader al-Hijri has called the ruling regime “a gang” and accused it of “genocide.” Three members of the Suwayda Military Council are former Assad generals.

Unhappy with the accommodation, Tel Aviv is trying to undermine the recent agreement by supporting factions within the Druze community that do not want reconciliation with the new government in Damascus. Israel is both striking government forces and supplying weapons to the hard-line faction. Footage widely shared on social media showed an Israeli helicopter loaded with arms landing in the Suwayda village of al-Kafr at a base run by the Suwayda Military Council. The helicopter distributed weapons to hard-line Druze faction fighters on May 2.

"Israel is attempting to bring the new Syrian regime down by gradually weakening and dispersing it, so that any factions, or an alliance of factions, can mount a military campaign and ultimately topple the new government,” says Lister.

Israel has become increasingly aggressive in its policy towards Syria and elsewhere, even targeting a humanitarian flotilla near the coast of Malta on the same day as well as its retaliatory strikes on Yemen. However, since the fall of the Assad regime just under 150 days ago, Israel has carried out 174 artillery strikes, 231 ground incursions, and the first new occupation of land in the Golan Heights since 1974, according to the Middle East Institute.

Western analysts speculate that it was the factions that ultimately toppled the Assad regime and hope to use the same dynamics to bring down the new government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Local observers say the strategy is likely to backfire, as the Syrian people have welcomed the ousting of Assad, broadly support the new government, and hope to see peace and an end to sanctions and economic hardship. The new leadership, too, is attempting to put a brave face on it and is refusing to go into direct conflict with the neighbouring state. 

The upshot is that hundreds of thousands have joined the reformed armed forces of the new regime, bolstering its ability to resist, which had previously been crumbling under Assad.

Starting in February, the Israelis have been lobbying Washington for a “soft regime” change in Damascus and a “campaign of 1,000 cuts,” one official told Lister.

The latest attacks on May 2 and the preceding strikes in recent days could potentially drag Turkey into direct conflict with Israel, as its investment and the Erdogan administration's backing for the new Syrian project come under increasing scrutiny. It remains to be seen how this will play out, and with Europe's backing of the new al-Sharaa administration, the EU and Ankara will likely be increasingly supporting its long-term survival.