Israeli Defense Minister Katz holds Syrian President Sharaa 'directly responsible' for rocket fire from Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized on Tuesday evening that Israel holds interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara "directly responsible for every threat and firing towards the State of Israel, and the full response will come as soon as possible."

"We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7," Katz continued, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, which resulted in the massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 people from Israeli border communities.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that a rocket fired from Syria landed in an open area inside Israeli territory. The rocket caused no harm or damage but triggered sirens in towns and communities across northern Israel and the Israeli Golan Heights. The IDF responded with direct artillery fire towards the source of the launch in southern Syria.

Rocket fire from Syria coincided with the launch of a ballistic missile by the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen, raising concerns of a coordinated offensive against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched an investigation into whether the two attacks were deliberately synchronized. Although it remains unclear which group in Syria was responsible for the rocket fire, Katz emphasized that Israel holds the Syrian regime accountable for any aggression originating from its territory.

The Assad regime in Syria collapsed in December 2024 after 54 years in power. Al-Sharaa, who heads the interim Syrian regime, has tried to convince the United States and the Western world that he seeks peace. However, Israel remains skeptical due to al-Sharaa’s past as an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist. The Israeli government promptly ordered the IDF to seize control of the strategically significant buffer zone between the countries, aiming to prevent anti-Israel jihadist groups from threatening Israeli border communities.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and subsequently decided to lift Washington’s sanctions on Syria. Trump reportedly asked the Syrian leader to embrace peace with Israel and join the Abraham Accords.

Al-Sharaa has stated that Syria seeks peace with all its neighbors, including Israel. In late May, Syrian and Israeli officials reportedly held de-escalation talks. While potential peace is possible, one informed source stressed that the current focus is "about peace, as in the absence of war, rather than normalization.”

Syria and Israel currently have no diplomatic relations and remain technically at war. Hostilities date back to Syria’s attacks on Israel in the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973.

Despite Jerusalem’s distrust of the new Syrian regime, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter assessed last month that Israel could potentially make peace with Syria and Lebanon even before normalizing its ties with Saudi Arabia.

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

"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," he added.

While al-Sharaa is eager to secure political and financial support from Western nations, he has signaled a willingness to take decisive action against terrorism within Syrian territory. However, Reuters reported on Monday that the United States has approved the Syrian regime’s plan to incorporate foreign jihadist fighters into the emerging new Syrian Armed Forces.