Israel is not committing aggression in Syria and Lebanon, but it does routinely respond to threats and attacks from both countries, in most cases stemming from Iran and its proxy Hezbollah.

Conflict in Syria

During Syria’s decade-long civil war which began in 2011, Israel has avoided any serious entanglement with the warring parties, unlike other countries that have directly intervened with troops on the ground such as Russia, Iran and Turkey. However, as Iran and its proxy Hezbollah used their presence in Syria to dramatically escalate their military deployment against Israel, it has responded.

Iran’s presence in Syria, under the strategy overseen by the late General Qassem Soleimani, has had two goals. The first goal was to provide funding and military power so that the Bashar al-Assad regime could maintain its grip on power in the ongoing civil war. According to the IDF, since 2011, Iran has deployed 3,000 Iranian Quds Force militants in Syria, and funded the deployment there of 8,000 Hezbollah militants as well as thousands of foreign Shiite militias.[1] Second, and no less important, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has focused its efforts on establishing advanced weapons capabilities and command infrastructure in Syria, building a military and proxy network in the country, to threaten and attack Israel.

Iran is not shy about its intentions. Senior Iranian officials routinely call for Israel’s destruction. In April 2020, Iranian official Mohsen Rezai threatened: “If the Zionist entity takes even the slightest initiative, you may rest assured that we will raze the Israeli cities to the ground.”[2]

Recent examples of Iranian aggression against Israel from Syria, and Israel’s response, include:

• February 10, 2018: Iranian UAV armed with explosives, launched from an airbase in Syria, infiltrated Israeli airspace in attempted attack, which was prevented by Israeli helicopters. In response, Israel struck the UAV launch site and 12 other Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria. Israel lost one of its F-16 planes in the counter-offensive—a rare loss for the Israeli air force, though both crew members survived after ejecting. More from BBC.[3]
• May 9, 2018: Iranian Quds Force in Syria fired 20 rockets at Israel. In response, Israel carried out strikes on dozens of Iranian Quds Force military targets in Syria. More from New York Times.[4]
• January 20, 2019: Iranian Quds Force in Syria fired Iranian-made rocket at Israeli civilian ski resort on Golan Heights. In response, Israel struck Iranian Quds Force targets in Syria, including munition storage sites, a military compound in Damascus International Airport, and Iranian intelligence and military training sites. More from CNN.[5]
• August 24, 2019: Iranian Quds Force killer drone attack, directly commanded by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, was preemptively foiled by IDF. More from Washington Times.[6]
• September 9, 2019: Shiite militants in Syria, operating under the direct command of Iranian Quds Force, fired several rockets at Israel. Rockets fell short and landed in Syria. More from The Washington Post.[7]
• November 19, 2019: Iranian forces in Syria fired four rockets at Israel. In response, the IDF struck dozens of Iranian and Syrian targets in Israel, including surface-to-air missiles, Quds Force headquarters, weapon warehouses and military compounds. More from BBC.[8]

World leaders have condemned Iranian attacks on Israel from Syria and defended Israel’s right to respond. In May 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May stated: “We condemn Iran’s attack on Israel. Israel has every right to defend itself.”[9] Boris Johnson, then foreign minister, urged Iran “to refrain from further escalation.”[10] Germany likewise condemned Iran’s attack as a “serious provocation” and recognized that “Israel has a right to self-defense.”[11] EU foreign affairs representative Federica Mogherini responded to the Iranian attack by affirming that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”[12]

In view of the above, it is clear that Israel’s actions in response to Iran’s military threats and aggression in Syria amount to self-defense and are legal under international law.

Lebanon and Hezbollah

Iran and Hezbollah typically condemn all Israeli actions in Lebanon as violations of international law or aggression. In August 2018, two IDF drones crashed between residential buildings in Beirut. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah lashed out at Israel, saying this was “a very, very dangerous development.”[13] According to a report by the Washington Institute, the drones were targeting Iranian weapons facilities in Lebanon.[14] In January 2018, Hezbollah accused Israel of a bomb attack in the city of Sidon that wounded a member of the Hamas terror group.[15] In January 2019, when Israel discovered a series of sophisticated attack tunnels dug from Lebanon into Israel, and responded by putting up a barrier, Lebanon’s National Security Council complained that this constituted “an act of aggression.”[16] Do these and related actions in fact constitute aggression?

One cannot understand Lebanon without appreciating the central role played by Iran and its proxy militia Hezbollah, which, according to the New York Times, “dominated” the last Lebanese government. Iran finances Hezbollah to the tune of $800 million per year, part of estimated billions that Tehran spends annually to fuel conflicts across the Middle East, including massive support to the Syrian regime and “resistance” groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and the West Bank.[17] According to a UN statement by 11 Arab states, Iran is today “a state sponsor of terrorism” throughout the Middle East, committing “aggression in the region.”[18]

Hezbollah is widely recognized as a terrorist organization, including by the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. In 2009, Hezbollah released a new Charter in which it called Israel an “eternal threat to Lebanon,” vowed to support “the Palestinian resistance” and stated: “We categorically reject any compromise with Israel or recognizing its legitimacy…”

Hezbollah has repeatedly escalated conflict on Israel’s northern border. In 2006, Hezbollah’s kidnapping of Israeli soldiers sparked a 34-day war in which Hezbollah indiscriminately fired 3,900 rockets at Israeli population centers, killing 49 civilians and wounding 1,384. In addition, 121 Israeli soldiers were killed and another 1,244 injured. The war ended in a ceasefire pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1701 which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, providing that the only armed forces permitted to operate in southern Lebanon would be UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah has repeatedly violated the ceasefire through various acts of aggression along the Lebanon-Israel border.

In December 2018 and January 2019, Israel discovered six Hezbollah attack tunnels crossing under the border from Lebanon into Israel.[19] The tunnels contained advanced infrastructure, including electricity, ventilation and communications systems enabling terrorists to remain inside for extended periods. They were part of a Hezbollah plan to attack northern Israel. In the UN debate of December 2018, the Lebanese government (which includes Hezbollah) refused to acknowledge any violations of international law.[20] On the contrary, when Israel responded by constructing a barrier, Lebanon’s National Security Council complained that this constituted “an act of aggression.”[21]