Following last week’s strikes just south of Damascus, Israel’s military said it conducted another round of strikes on Monday on military targets in northwestern Syria.

The stalling of the ceasefire is part of a wider strategic shift, as Israel’s army seeks to maintain a larger geographic presence, including in territory that is not Israeli. It has begun to create what it intends to be indefinite “buffer zones” on four fronts: in Gaza, on the borders with Lebanon and Syria, and in the West Bank.

Israel launched a series of major airstrikes against Syria after announcing a new policy of “pacifying” the southern portion of the country. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that it had struck several military targets in southern Syria,

Israeli attacks are angering Syrians and unsettling the country’s new leaders, who are dealing with multiple crises after the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts said.