A decade after Ghouta massacre: Israel's strikes redefine the fight against Syrian weapons

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

On the morning of August 21, 2013, Eastern Ghouta in Syria awoke to a scene of devastation: hundreds of lifeless bodies, including children, victims of sarin gas unleashed by the Assad regime in one of the most horrific crimes in modern history.  

To fully understand this tragedy, here is a closer look back to August 20, 2012, when then-President Barack Obama declared that the use or transfer of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line." 

However, despite the Ghouta massacre, Washington's red line was quickly blurred. The Obama administration, expected to launch a military response to change the course of the Syrian war, instead deferred to Congress and pursued a diplomatic solution. 

The outcome was a deal brokered with Russia, leading Syria to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and dismantle parts of its chemical arsenal. The diplomatic move came at a cost: a blow to U.S. credibility on the global stage.  

While the Ghouta victims became a grim symbol of inaction, the Assad regime eventually fell over a decade later. So, what the Obama administration failed to do, Netanyahu's administration took action.

Israel has conducted over 350 airstrikes targeting key military sites across Syria, marking the most extensive air operation in its history. These strikes targeted air defense systems, military airports, missile storage facilities, and weapons production sites in cities such as Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra.  
 
The Israeli navy also joined the offensive, hitting Syrian maritime facilities, including ports in Bayda and Latakia. Among the most critical targets was the Scientific Studies and Research Center in Masyaf, long linked to the development of chemical weapons and missiles. Facilities suspected of storing or producing hazardous chemical materials in Damascus and Homs were also destroyed.  

Now, more than a decade after the Ghouta massacre, the U.S. continues to advocate for the removal of Syria's chemical weapons. 

Nonetheless, Israel's campaign aims much further, seeking to eliminate any weapon deemed a threat to its national security.