ISRAEL SWITCHES FROM AIR ATTACK TO GROUND ATTACK AFTER SYRIAN AIR DEFENCES IMPROVE

Israel's relative military decline relative to its neighbours was confirmed yesterday when it launched its latest strike against Iranian forces in Syria using ground based missiles instead of air-launched missiles. 

As reported by Russia Today:

The Israeli military reportedly pummeled several areas in southern Syria with missiles shortly after midnight on Thursday local time, state news agency SANA reported, citing military officials.

Syria’s air defenses were scrambled to repel the attack and intercepted the majority of the missiles launched from the direction of the Golan Heights, the agency said.

“Our air defenses responded to an Israeli aggression that targeted some points in the southern region and shot down most of the hostile missiles,” a military source said.

Large numbers of Iranian fighters are based in Syria to assist the Assad government in its long-running civil war. Meanwhile Israel is in a near state-of-war with Iran and resents the presence of Iranian troops in a neighbouring territory.

In the past Israeli jets would simply fly over Syria bombing whatever targets they wanted, but in recent years Syrian air defences have greatly improved, thanks to Russian assistance. 

This now makes it extremely dangerous for Israeli jets to fly anywhere near Syria, let alone in Syrian air space. This is why the latest attack was launched using ground-based missiles from the occupied Golan Heights territory. 

A Syrian news source on Twitter said the attack was by the Israeli army:

The decline in Israeli military superiority is the real reason why Bibi Netanyahu was kicked out of power recently.

Netanyahu was an out-and-out "hawk," who favoured a "shoot first, ask questions later" foreign policy, and relied on unswerving support from President Trump. But with Israeli military dominance now curtailed and Biden in the White House, Israel needs a leader who is able to take a more "nuanced" approach. 

Naftali Bennett, who took over in June this year, is regarded as a more cautious and pragmatic figure than Netanyahu.