For years, soldiers from Russia's Hmeimim Air Base in Syria roamed freely through coastal cities. War planes flew from the complex to bombard Islamist rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's repressive regime.

Israel has publicly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Assad.

Israel works to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria by lobbying the United States to keep it weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases in the country, Reuters reported on Feb.

Israel is lobbying the US to maintain Syria's weakness and Russian military bases in response to Turkey's growing influence in the region. This move is aimed at preventing a security threat to Israel from Islamist forces backed by Ankara,