Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

IDF downs ‘suspicious aerial target’ in Syria

Earlier, Hebrew-language media reported an Israeli airstrike in southwestern Syria.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets. Credit: Israeli Defense Ministry Spokesperson’s Office.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets. Credit: Israeli Defense Ministry Spokesperson’s Office.

An Israeli fighter jet overnight Saturday intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” over Syria.

The target did not cross into Israeli territory, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Earlier on Saturday, Hebrew-language media reported an Israeli airstrike in southwestern Syria.

On Friday, an alleged Israeli airstrike in Aleppo in northwest Syria reportedly killed dozens of people, mainly Syrian soldiers and Hezbollah terrorists.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during a visit to the IDF’s Northern Command Headquarters in Safed on Friday, said Israel would reach every location that Hezbollah is active in, including Beirut, Damascus and further afield.

“I’m scared of what’s going to happen now,” Miri Bar-Halpern, a Jewish psychology lecturer at Harvard Medical School, told JNS. “I can already predict the backlash.”
Netanyahu remains 8 seats short of a Knesset majority as Eisenkot-led bloc secures 48 seats and Arab parties 19.
“They will push legislation very hard to end the Iran war, and it’s not inconceivable that they could get a fair amount of Republican support for that,” William Galston of Brookings told JNS.
Netanyahu’s Likud remains Israel’s largest party, the opposition lacks a clear path to power, and an enlarged Arab bloc complicates coalition arithmetic. With Trump backing Netanyahu and Iran still on the agenda, another election could carry high strategic costs.