Defense Minister Katz vows to defend Israel, IDF strikes Syrian weapons depots

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to take action against threats on the country's security as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck weapons depots in the Latakia region in Syria.

"The IDF attacked and destroyed strategic weapons across Syria this evening that posed an immediate threat to the State of Israel. We will not allow threats, and no party will have immunity – we will continue to defend Israel’s security," Katz stated.

Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strikes, confirming that the targets included surface-to-surface missiles that threatened Israeli security and the country’s maritime navigation freedom.

Syria's state news agency, SANA, claimed that one civilian was killed in the Israeli aerial strike on the military sites.

The IAF strikes followed recent reports that Syrian and Israeli officials were holding de-escalation talks with the goal of reducing hostilities in the fragile border areas between the two neighboring foes. There are no official diplomatic relations between Syria and Israel, as the two countries are technically at war following Syria's attacks on Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973.

An informed source confirmed the direct bilateral talks but stressed that the current focus is "about peace, as in the absence of war, rather than normalization.”

Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the IDF quickly destroyed most of the Syrian military’s remaining assets to prevent weapons falling into the hands of anti-Israel jihadist terrorists in Syria. The IDF also seized the strategically important buffer zone between the countries.

In April, the IDF Chief Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir stressed the importance of the buffer zone during a visit to the area.

“From this location, you can see all those positioned along this ridge – it’s a strategic point. We don’t know how things will develop here, but our presence has significant security importance,” Zamir assessed.

The United States recently decided to lift sanctions on Syria after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month met with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration has decided to give the new Syrian regime a fresh start and al-Sharaa claims that he embraces peaceful relations with all neighbors including Israel. Trump reportedly urged the new Syrian leader to join the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

However, the Israeli government remains skeptical, citing the new Syrian leader’s past as a radical jihadist with ties to the Islamist terrorist organization al-Qaeda.

Earlier this week, Washington’s newly appointed envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, argued that peace between Syria and Israel is possible, even after 77 years of hostilities.

"Syria and Israel are a solvable problem. But it starts with a dialogue," Barrack said. "I’d say we need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders."

Barrack who also serves as Washington’s ambassador to Turkey, praised the new Syrian Islamist regime for its willingness to engage in diplomatic dialogue.

Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter recently expressed cautious optimism about normalized ties between Israel and Syria in the future.

"There's no reason now why we wouldn't be moving into accommodation with Syria and Lebanon," Leiter assessed.

"We have dramatically changed the paradigm there. I'm very upbeat about the potential for an Abraham Accord with Syria and Lebanon, and that may actually precede Saudi Arabia," the ambassador added.