Rising the tensions between Israel and Iran threaten to open a second front that may include Syria
The recent days have witnessed an escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed armed groups in the region. After the Israeli army announced launching large-scale strikes against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, air strikes were recorded, likely to be Israeli ones, in Syria.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper said that the rising tensions between Israel and groups allied with Iran in the region, including Syria, raise serious concerns about the opening a second front for the Gaza war.
The newspaper confirmed that there are reports confirming the killing of more than 25 pro-Iranian members in Israeli strikes in eastern and northern Syria, following the killing of the prominent leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, in a similar attack near Damascus.
The newspaper made it clear that the war in Gaza also increases the risks faced by US military forces stationed throughout the region, especially eastern Syria.
The newspaper pointed out that armed groups in the region have launched at least 106 attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq since last October 17, according to US officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference last Saturday, on December, 30, 2023 that “Israel is ready to move to restore security on Israel’s northern borders, and has agreed to combat plans to achieve this goal.”
Netanyahu stressed that if the Hezbollah militia expands the fighting, it will receive blows it never dreamed of, and so will Iran.
Israeli forces regularly exchange shooting with Hezbollah, but tensions along Israel’s northern border have remained relatively under control, partly due to US and other Western diplomatic efforts to prevent a broader regional war.
