The latest play in the Middle East occurred late Wednesday night when Israel violated Syrian and Lebanese airspace to perform an airstrike in Syria. According to Al Jazeera, Israel hit a military convoy of Russian chemical weapons traveling through Syria on its way to Lebanon. Not much is clear about the intent of the attacks at this time, but what is certain is that they bring rather large implications. 

Firstly, despite the fact that Syria was the target, the Assad regime seems to be benefiting the most from the attack. In the wake of this incident, Assad's allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon - all expressed immediate outrage. Syria has been in a civil war for roughly a year now and it is believed by many that the defeat of Assad is near, which will make it harder for Moscow, Tehran and Hezbollah to continue to publicly support him. However, nothing brings allies closer than a shared enemy. 

This airstrike isn't only significant because of Israel's fears over the future of Syria. It is also because this is the first time since 2007 that Israel has attacked Syria. This is an indicator of not only trouble in Syria but also of the uneasiness in Israel. Namely, Israel fears that Syria will be taken over by Islamist radicals, which will threaten the relative peace the two countries have been living in for the past half-century. 

These shifting dynamics make even more clear the precarious environment surrounding Americans traveling in the Middle East. Israel is still the only official U.S. ally in the region, which makes for an awkward exchange when Israel is the aggressor in situations like this. The U.S. and Israel both declined to comment about the airstrike attack. 

 

Reach Staff Reporter Alexis Miller here.