- October 3, 2024
- 7:23 pm
- Middle East
On the night of October 3, 2024, Israeli forces attacked ammunition depots located in the Syrian port city of Jableh, in southern Latakia. This city is located in close proximity to Russian military base Khmeimim.
The attack was unexpected for Russia, since Moscow was not warned in advance about Israel's actionsdespite seemingly “some agreements”.
A number of sources, including Arab media and an Israeli website Defense Mirrornote that this is the first time Israel has attacked a facility so close to a Russian base. Interestingly, both Syrian and Russian air defense systems were involved in repelling the attack, which emphasizes the difficulty of protecting strategically important facilities for Moscow in this region. However, the attack was successful.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the site attacked was an ammunition depot used by Hezbollah, a well-known ally of Iran and enemy of Israel. This organization, supported both by Iran and indirectly by Russia, regularly threatens the security of Israel.
In this case, the blow on Hezbollah targets near Russian forces – a clear sign that Israel no longer intends to tolerate such ambiguous relations with Russia.
The attacks are part of a broader Israeli campaign to undermine Iran's influence in Syria as Tehran actively supports the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel has been carrying out attacks on Iranian targets in Syria for years to weaken Iran's military presence and prevent the supply of weapons to Hezbollah militants.
Russia, despite all its official statements about supporting peace in the Middle East, continues to provide assistance to Israel's enemies – both with weapons and political support. With this strike, Israel demonstrated its intention to act decisively and independently, despite the presence of Russian troops in the region.
Many experts believe that this attack could be the beginning of a new trend in the politics of Israel, which is tired of Moscow’s dual games. As reported, this is not the first time that Russia covers up the actions of terrorist groups in the region. If the situation develops in this vein, Israel will likely become even more independent in its military actions, ignoring Russian interests and the risks of escalating the conflict.
It is interesting to note that in October last year, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended that its citizens refrain from traveling to Israel, and now Russian Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov has reaffirmed this recommendation, adding that Russians in Israel should leave the country “while such opportunities exist”. This statement came against the backdrop of an escalation of the situation in the region, caused, among other things, by the activity of groups associated with Iran and Syria.
As for the number of Russian citizens living in Israel, according to the latest data, their number can reach more than 200,000 people. A massive exodus of Russians could create serious social and economic consequences for Israel. But it could also cause a negative reaction among the local population, who would see this flight as a sign of weakness and panic.
For Israel, the key remains its ability to protect its interests, despite any external influences and Russian attempts to manipulate the situation.
