For weeks, Israel has engaged in back-channel talks over a diplomatic agreement with the Syrian government. Its strikes on Damascus this week highlight a lack of strategic clarity.

Syria's interim president accused Israel on Thursday of "trying to drag us into war" after the Netanyahu government launched airstrikes in Damascus.

Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

These events highlight the falsity of claims that the regime change that took place in December 2024 with the support of the US and its allies, including Turkey, would bring democracy and peace to Syria,