Israel bombing Aleppo airport four times in last two weeks follows a pattern

Syria's state-run media reported that the Aleppo International Airport in Northern Syria was targeted by an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, October 25, resulting in the closure of operations.

A Syrian military source told SANA, that the "enemy aggression" came from the Mediterranean side (West of Aleppo) and it caused "material damage to the runway."

The airport, apart from, civilian operations, was also a hub for humanitarian relief work in the region, following the devastating earthquakes that ravaged South Turkey and North Syria in February 2023.

According to Reuters, the Israeli Defence Forces has declined to comment on the same. However, earlier on Wednesday, the IDF said that it had conducted airstrikes on multiple Syrian military installations in response to rockets launched from Syrian territory towards Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights.

Four attacks in two weeks

• The alleged attack marks the fourth such attack on the Aleppo airport, in the past two weeks.
• The runway was under repair and was expected to open on Wednesday, following a previous attack on the runway on October 22.
• On the same day, the Syrian Military said that "blatant Israeli aggression" had knocked out operations at the Damascus International Airport too, along with the one in Aleppo. The attack in Damascus claimed one life, reported SANA.
• Last week, on October 12 and 14, similar reports of runway damage at Damascus and Aleppo airports emerged too.

As Israel engages in intense war with Hamas on the Southern Front, the Northern Front has not been quiet. According to the Associated Press, the IDF and Hezbollah exchanged numerous rockets since the Israel-Hamas War kicked off on October 7. The exchanges have become increasingly intense in the last week.

Why the pattern?

There is a pattern, but it's not new.

• Aleppo International, for a long time, had been a centre of intel gathering to benefit non-state actors in the region and had an Iranian military presence in the past before it reportedly withdrew from it.
• Reports suggest, on multiple instances earlier this year, in March, May and August Israel had done the same.
• An Al Jazeera report says Israel has been conducting numerous air attacks in Syria for nearly a decade, primarily targeting suspected Iranian-backed weapons shipments and personnel movements.
• However, these operations are seldom publicly acknowledged or openly discussed by Israel, the report added.
• Some experts feel that these attacks have been carried out in response to Iran's involvement in Syria and its ruler Bashar-al Asad, whom the Iranian regime backs.

• It's the non-state actors as well. 
• Israel is reportedly intensifying its efforts to stop the delivery of sophisticated weaponry from Iran to its various allies, with Hezbollah being the 'usual suspect'.
• Incidentally, the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, held a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon with senior representatives from the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups on the same Wednesday (October 25), reported Reuters.

• The meeting adds fuel to narratives of a well-coordinated attack on Israel if and when the war spills over.
• In addition to mortars and anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon, there had been reports of infiltrations into Israeli territory by Hezbollah terrorists too. It has, therefore prompted Israel to evacuate as many as 42 border communities up north.

Hence, the fear of a two-front war remains very much real, and Israel is not looking to take chances, it seems.