Name: Inside Syria’s crippled air defences after Israeli strikes
Uploaded: 2025-11-26T16:29:46.293Z
Duration: 1 min 45 s
Description: Al Jazeera has gained rare access to an air defence site in Daraa, Syria.

Al Jazeera has gained rare access to an air defence site in Daraa, Syria.

Daraa

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Middle East Conflict

Syria's air defence capabilities have been severely diminished following repeated Israeli strikes, with most of its systems destroyed. Local fighters suggest that some of the remaining missile hardware was either non-functional or intended as decoys, and claim that previous regimes may have used these weapons to threaten domestic opposition rather than external adversaries.

In addition to external threats, Syria faces significant internal security challenges, including clashes among various factions in different regions. Efforts by Ahmad al-Sharaa's administration to unify these groups under a single command have met resistance, leaving the country's future unity in question.

Inside Syria’s crippled air defences after Israeli strikes

Almost all of Syria's air defences have been destroyed by Israeli forces. That, according to many people, remains the biggest threat. Israeli incursions and targeting of Syrian military hardware as the biggest threat to Syria's security and territorial integrity. These appear to be surface-to-air or surface-to-surface missile defence systems and were perhaps built during the Soviet era. And all of these rockets that you see here, which have not exploded, well, the fighters here have a theory that these were either out of commission or were decoys. And they say many of these rockets, if you look at them, are pointed towards the cities of Syria rather than towards Israel. Their theory is that the former regime wanted to use its military hardware to threaten the Syrian people and their revolution rather than actually pose a threat to Israel. In addition to external factors, Syria also faces a number of internal security challenges. There have been clashes here in the south, especially in Daraa, with Druze factions. In the north, there has been fighting with US-backed Kurdish fighters and Syrian government forces. And then in the west, in the last one year, there have been clashes between the Alawi factions and Syrian government forces. Ahmad al-Sharaa's administration wants to bring all of these fighters under a unified chain of command, but there have been people who are resisting. And that gives you an idea of the situation that Syria finds itself in today, because unless all of these issues are solved, a united Syria's future remains a question mark.

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Inside Syria’s crippled air defences after Israeli strikes

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