Recent suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria have killed two Iranian military advisers and temporarily closed down the country’s two largest airports. The escalation of attacks follows a period of tension between Israel and Iran, including the rare infiltration of an armed man from Lebanon into Israel and Iran’s reconciliation with regional rival Saudi Arabia last month. Israel, which has fought a shadow war with Iran in Syria for years, has intensified its attacks in recent weeks with near-daily airstrikes. Since the start of 2023, Syrian officials have attributed 10 strikes on Syrian territory to Israel, including four airstrikes within five days as of Tuesday. Israel has long considered Iran to be its top enemy due to Iranian calls for Israel’s destruction, its support for anti-Israel militant groups like Hezbollah, and its nuclear program.

While Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria and has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of that country in recent years, it rarely acknowledges them. The recent increase in strikes reflects Israel's concerns about fighters being deployed close to its northern border and fears that Iran is trying to transfer sophisticated weapons, such as guided missiles, to Hezbollah.

Lebanese military expert and former army general Hisham Jaber said Iran has about 1,800 military advisers in Syria, most of them deployed with Syrian troops. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has also had recent run-ins with Iranian forces in Syria, but the situation did not escalate. However, some fear that the back-and-forth between Israel and Iran could lead to regional escalation.

The recent strikes attributed to Israel in Syria have targeted both Iranian-linked figures and infrastructure. They have hit the airports of Damascus and Aleppo, disrupting aid shipments after the deadly February earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey. In mid-March, the Israeli army said its soldiers had killed an armed man suspected of entering the country from Lebanon and blowing up a car. On Friday, an Israeli strike on a southern suburb of Damascus killed two advisers from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Hours later, Israel’s air force shot down a drone that entered Israel from Syria and alleged that Iran was behind its launch.

The airstrikes have raised fears of further escalation in the region. An official with an Iran-backed group in the region warned that if Israel continues with the strikes, Tehran and its allies will retaliate. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with the media. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guard as saying that the killing of two Iranian advisers “will definitely not pass without retaliation.”