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The Syrian government has blamed Israel for a series of attacks around the country.

The attacks early on Tuesday targeted sites in and around the city of Homs in western Syria and the coastal city of Latakia.

The Syrian government called the attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic”, according to Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

Israel has attacked Syria hundreds of times since the regime of President Bashar al-Assad fell on December 8 and also conducted a land grab in the chaotic early hours after al-Assad fled to Moscow. Under the al-Assad regime, Israel waged a secretive campaign of aerial bombardment against Syria’s military infrastructure, but attacks have intensified since the war on Gaza began nearly two years ago and even more so since the fall of al-Assad.

In the first days after the fall of the al-Assad regime, Israel launched a devastating series of attacks that destroyed much of Syria’s military infrastructure in an attempt to create a “sterile zone” in southern Syria.

Israel and Syria have held direct talks in recent months, and while Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ruled out normalisation, the talks are aimed at halting Israel’s aggressive actions towards Syria and reaching some kind of security deal.

So why then has Israel decided to reinitiate attacks? Here’s what you need to know:

What exactly happened?

The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian air force base in Homs, causing huge explosions. No casualties were reported.

Israeli fighter jets also attacked a military barracks in Latakia although there were no reports of casualties there either.

These strikes came on the back of Israeli attacks near Damascus in late August that killed six Syrian soldiers.

The Saudi Arabian news channel Al-Arabiya reported that the site targeted in Homs held Turkish-made rockets and aerial defence equipment. Turkiye has been one of the biggest allies of the new Syrian government and has reportedly agreed to provide Syria with Turkish weapons systems and logistical tools in a military cooperation accord signed in mid-August.

But as relations between Turkiye and Syria grow stronger, tension has been building between Turkiye and Israel. As Israel continues its war on Gaza, which international scholars have called a genocide, Turkiye closed its airspace to Israel and banned Israeli ships from Turkish ports in protest against the war on Gaza.

What is going on between Turkiye and Israel?

Turkiye’s good relations with the new government in Damascus have drawn a reaction from Israel.

Israel has also been accused of trying to undermine Syrian stability by voicing support for Kurdish and Druze autonomy.

This has led to a growing war of words between Turkiye and Israel with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “biggest obstacle to regional peace” in June, shortly after Israel attacked Iran.

Meanwhile, regional newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Netanyahu has been holding security meetings over concerns of Turkiye’s growing influence in Syria and Netanyahu is leaning on Israeli media to portray a confrontation with Ankara as inevitable.

What is Syria saying?

The official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Syria’s Foreign Ministry as calling the attacks “a direct threat” to Syrian security and regional stability.

Israel’s continuing and unprovoked attacks on Syria are “part of a series of aggressive escalations pursued by Israel against Syrian territory”, and the government rejects “any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or harm its national security”, the ministry said.

The ministry called on the United Nations to take a “clear and firm stand to put an end” to Israel’s attacks, which it called a “flagrant violation” of international law.

What about Israel?

Israel has not commented yet.

But Israeli forces have been busy with attacks in Syria, Qatar, Gaza and Lebanon, and have been conducting raids on the occupied West Bank. There was also an attack in Tunisia on one of the boats in the aid-carrying Global Sumud flotilla heading towards Gaza that volunteers on board suspect Israel of perpetrating.

Are the peace talks between Israel and Syria dead?

Not necessarily.

Syrian officials have said many times that they do not want a war with Israel. Syria has enough internal troubles going on along its coast, in the south and with the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast, not to mention clashes along the border with Lebanon. Syrian authorities are also painfully aware that Israel is technologically and militarily stronger and backed by a global superpower in the United States, which has been crucial to removing sanctions on Syria and giving the country a chance to revive its economy.

The European Union will implement new measures against Israel and further raise support for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said.

In her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen condemned the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”, announcing plans to cut support for Israel and implement sanctions.

She also noted plans to further raise support for Ukraine, urging EU members – some of which are likely to be unenthusiastic – to rally behind the measures on both issues.

“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop,” the EU chief declared.

The proposed “package of measures” includes sanctions on “extremist Israeli ministers” and settlers, a suspension of bilateral support for Israel, and a suspension of the EU’s association agreement with Israel, which gives it preferential access to European markets.

“Europe needs to do more,” said von der Leyen, adding that while she would attempt to move the bloc in unison, EU member states also needed to take “our own responsibility” on the issue.

“Europe’s goal has always been the same. Real security for Israel and a safe, present future for all Palestinians,” she said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was quick to slam the EU chief and claimed that she was offering support to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas.

“The remarks made this morning by the President of the European Commission are regrettable. Some of them also echo the false propaganda of Hamas and its partners,” Saar wrote on social media. “Once again, Europe is sending the wrong message, which strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East.”

Reparations and returns for Ukraine

Regarding Ukraine, von der Leyen said she was proposing a summit to coordinate international efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

The use of frozen Russian assets to fund a “reparations loan” for Ukraine was also put forward in the speech, although von der Leyen said the bloc would not seize the assets itself.

The address came shortly after Polish and NATO forces shot down Russian drones that had violated Poland’s airspace. The EU chief branded Moscow’s actions “reckless and unprecedented”.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions on it, targeting its economy, individuals and key sectors such as fuel, as well as nearly 140 billion euros ($164bn) in support to Ukraine, including financial, humanitarian, and military assistance.

Von der Leyen said as the EU prepares its 19th package of sanctions against Moscow, it will seek to accelerate efforts to phase out all purchases of Russian fossil fuels, as well as sanctioning the shadow oil shipping fleet used to circumvent such measures and any third countries involved.

Coalition of the unwilling?

However, Brussels is likely to encounter obstacles to such ambitions. Unanimous agreement is required to impose sanctions, and Hungary and Slovakia remain dependent on Russian energy and have blocked previous actions.

The 27-member bloc also remains divided over action regarding Israel’s war on Gaza, which started after Hamas led deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Sanctions and the suspension of the trade agreement would require the approval of all 27 states, and could meet resistance from the likes of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany.

Other member states, such as Spain or Ireland, have been calling for economic curbs and an arms embargo against Israel for some time.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the “double standards” demonstrated by the West over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing.

However, other member states have obstructed efforts to take action and continue to supply the Israeli military with arms and equipment.

Ranging into other topics, von der Leyen defended the much-criticised tariffs deal she agreed recently with Washington, saying it stabilised ties with the United States at a time of soaring global tensions and averted trade war “chaos”.

She also asserted that the EU needs a new sanctions system targeting people smugglers and traffickers, adding it should be part of measures allowing the bloc to manage migration “effectively”.