The strikes are likely efforts to prevent Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia militia, from using its involvement in the Syrian conflict to acquire sophisticated weaponry. Israeli fears were heightened in early January when a spy satellite confirmed Russia’s deployment of advanced ‘Iskander’ ballistic missiles at Syria’s Lattakia airbase. This deployment, combined with Damascus’s recent victory in Aleppo, strengthens the Iranian-Hezbollah axis, creating new challenges for Israeli security.
Israel’s newly-acquired squadron of US-built F-35 stealth fighters will become operational in 2017.
Israeli intelligence assesses that Russian forces and advanced weapons will remain deployed in Syria in the long term.
The Israeli military will seek to invest in additional surface-to-surface missile platforms to avoid advanced Russian radar.
Ongoing Israeli military strikes in Syria could trigger an unintended military confrontation with Hezbollah.
