Netanyahu trial delayed again as Israel escalates bombing campaign in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-delayed corruption trial was postponed yet again this week, the Times of Israel has reported. This time due to Israel’s bombardment of Syria, the latest in a pattern of escalating regional military campaigns widely viewed as attempts to deflect attention from mounting legal troubles and growing domestic unrest.

The Tel Aviv District Court announced the suspension of Netanyahu’s scheduled testimony on Wednesday, just hours after Israeli missiles struck Damascus, including the Syrian Defence Ministry and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace. At least one person was reportedly killed and 18 injured in the strikes, which also damaged civilian infrastructure.

The bombing came in the wake of Israel’s threats to intervene in clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters in Suwayda. It marks a sharp intensification in regional hostilities, with Syria becoming the third country bombed by Israel in just 24 hours, following recent attacks in Lebanon and Iran.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation, declaring on social media: “Warnings in Damascus have ended—now painful blows will come.”

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Observers were quick to draw attention to the timing. Netanyahu, who faces three counts of bribery and fraud as well as other charges, has repeatedly been accused of prolonging Israel’s genocide in Gaza and engineering regional escalations as political cover. The Israeli Prime Minister is also wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, which has issued an international warrant for his arrest. 

Syria, under the leadership of interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, has made repeated efforts to avoid direct confrontation with Israel. Yet these conciliatory gestures appear to have offered no protection, as Damascus continues to be targeted.

Al-Sharaa, a former leader of the Al-Nusra Front—Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria that later rebranded as Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham—rose to prominence with strong backing from Western powers. He was instrumental in securing temporary sanctions relief from the US. 

The administration of Donald Trump subsequently delisted Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham—then led by Al-Sharaa—as a terrorist organisation, in what many observers viewed as a strategic reward for his overtures towards Israel and alignment with Western regional objectives. Yet despite these gestures of appeasement, Israel’s strikes on Syria have continued unabated.

Internal political calculations are also said to be at play. Reports suggest Netanyahu’s latest military campaign was also aimed at placating far-right coalition partners, particularly the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, amid speculation it might defect. But even that ploy appears to have failed as Shas has exited from the government. 

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