Pro-Iran militia images of attack against Israel
The IDF said on Wednesday that air force jets shot down a drone launched after it entered Israeli airspace from Syria, south of the Sea of Galilee. Earlier the military said a drone launched from Iraq landed in the Arava Desert and caused fire. No injuries were reported in either incident.
The militias in Iraq and Syria have increased their attack on Israel in recent days and have claimed responsibility for a growing number of launches. They are part of Iran's ring of fire surrounding Israel, which includes Hezbollah to the north, Hamas to the South and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The ties to Hezbollah strengthened before the war and were bolstered by the American assassination in 2020 of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani. After Soleimani's removal, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah became more dominant in the region. The perceived weakness of his replacement, Esmail Qaani also contributed to the growing independence of the Shiite groups which have been arming themselves with missiles and drones that Hezbollah regards as complementing his arsenal in the war against Israel.
"Nasrallah even challenges Iran's influence," said Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz, a research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. "The more the war against Hezbollah increases, the more the likelihood of more militia attacks and Israel and the United States would have to make some complicated choices."
Citrinowicz said the strategic alliance between Hezbollah and the pro-Iran militias could drag the U.S. forces into the fighting if they decide to defend Israel against such attacks.
American forces in Iraq and Syria have also been under attack from the same armed groups who direct their fire to the bases housing them, in the hopes of pushing them out and in response to the American support of Israel in the war.
According to a report in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (The New Arab), the Iraqi government supports the alliance called The Islamist Resistance in Iraq, uniting several militia groups, that have claimed responsibility for some attacks against Israel since the war began. Other militia groups were more closely affiliated with and funded by the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corp.