On 23 February 2025, Israel voiced a demand for the demilitarization of southern Syria by its new government of former rebels.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was demanding “complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Deraa and Suweida from the forces of the new regime,” and that it would not allow “the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel would “tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.” This last remark indicates a possibility of Israel developing a closer relationship with the Druze population in southern Syria which it demands to be demilitarized.
While Syria has been freed from the Iranian influence with the elimination of the Assad regime, it is now under the Turkish one. It appears from the actions of the Israeli government that it does not completely trust Turkey to refrain from adopting a threatening posture towards Israel within Syria in coordination with the new Syrian government.
Efforts Category: Israel’s Diplomatic Pressure vs Syria
On 23 February 2024, Israel made it clear that “Israeli forces would remain indefinitely inside the Syrian territory that they have seized since Assad’s fall last December.”
Israel’s defense minister Katz said that Israeli forces had built “two proper posts atop the summit of Mount Hermon and seven posts in the buffer zone to ensure defense and offense against any challenge,” referring to the Syrian territory along the boundary of Israel. According to Katz, Israeli forces were going to stay in these border areas of Syria “for an indefinite period of time to protect our communities and thwart any threat.”
Efforts Category: Israel’s Military Force vs Syria
On 19 February 2025, the Houthis fired a surface-to-air missile at a US F-16 fighter jet that was flying over the Red Sea. The missile missed the American fighter.
The Houthis had been in a military conflict with the US-Britain coalition since launching attacks against shipping passing through the Red Sea in November 2023. In January 2025, the conflict appeared to have died down following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Houthi attack on an American fighter jet that was flying outside of the Houthi-controlled territory seems to indicate that the pause in the fighting between the US and the Houthis might be short-lived.
Efforts Category: US, Britain and others vs Houthis Military Force
Modern Great Game Watch 