Israel's New Strikes on Southern Syria: A Local Perspective

As part of its strikes in retaliation for Iran’s strikes that were in turn retaliation for the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Israel conducted an attack on Syrian territory: specifically the Izraa area in Deraa province in southern Syria. While there is much punditry speculating on what happens next, there seems to have been little effort to reach out to those living in the vicinity of where the strikes took place and get their perspective on what is happening. This is an unfortunate shortcoming, but the problem is part of a wider pattern of deficiency in coverage. With the hundreds of Israeli strikes on Syria over the years, there has been hardly any outreach by media outlets and analysts to those living in the areas where the strikes have taken place.

To try to remedy this deficiency, today I decided to interview someone I know who comes from the town of Ghabagheb in Deraa province, some distance to the north of where the strikes occurred. This perspective, which is well worth highlighting, is reflective of a Syrian citizen supportive of the Syrian government and a Ba‘ath Party loyalist. The interview is slightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: In the night Israeli aircraft reportedly bombed the Izraa area in Deraa. Did you hear the sound of aircraft and bombing and did you see anything in the sky?